Climate Activists From African Nations Make Urgent Appeal

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Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate and peers from other African nations on Friday made an urgent appeal for the world to pay more attention to the continent that stands to suffer the most from global warming despite contributing to it the least.The Fridays For Future movement and activist Greta Thunberg held a news conference with the activists to spotlight the marginalization of African voices a week after The Associated Press cropped Nakate out of a photo at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.Nakate, Makenna Muigai of Kenya, Ayakha Melithafa of South Africa and climate scientist Ndoni Mcunu of South Africa pointed out the various challenges both in combating climate change on the booming continent of some 1.2 billion people and in inspiring the world’s response.“African activists are doing so…


Pakistan Stops Flights To, From China Amid Coronavirus Concerns

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Pakistan Friday temporarily halted all flights to and from China, effective immediately, a day after it decided to delay the opening of a key border crossing with the neighboring country following the coronavirus outbreak there.A spokesman for the Pakistan  Civil Aviation Authority said all flights “to and from China will remain suspended until February 2.” Abdul Sattar Khokar cited no reasons, saying the decision would effect 22 weekly flights.Chinese health officials reported Friday the respiratory virus that originated in the city of Wuhan has killed about 200 people, and the number of cases topped 9,000. The virus has spread to  18 countries outside China, including  South Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada  and the U.S.Pakistani officials say screening of travelers landing at national airports has already been tightened and emergency quarantine measures…


China Reports Nearly 10,000 Coronavirus Cases

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China says it has nearly 10,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus. The virus has caused 213 deaths in China where it emerged late last year.The World Health Organization says the  worldwide spread of the virus is  a global health emergency, as well as an "extraordinary event" requiring a coordinated international response.The Trump administration is warning Americans not to travel to China.The State Department issued what it calls a Britain reported its first confirmed cases Friday.  "We can confirm that two patients in England, who are members of the same family, have tested positive for coronavirus," said Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England.   He said the two are receiving "specialist" care from the country's National Health Service.   India and Philippines have also confirmed their first cases, joining a growing…


Belgian Court Acquits 3 Doctors in Landmark Euthanasia Case

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A Belgian court on Friday acquitted three doctors of charges of manslaughter by poisoning in a case that has been seen as a key test of Belgium's euthanasia laws.The three doctors were involved in the euthanasia of a 38-year-old patient, Tine Nys, who suffered with mental problems and died in 2010.Her family took the case to court, arguing that the euthanasia should never have happened, claiming her mental state was not hopeless and treatment was still possible. Nys had struggled with psychiatric problems for years and had attempted suicide several times.“This is such a relief. This has been with us for 10 years,” psychiatrist Lieve Thienpont, one of the acquitted doctors, told VRT network. The 12 jurors took eight hours to weigh the question of guilt and when they came…


Brain Injuries in Iraq Put Attention on Invisible War Wounds

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The spotlight on brain injuries suffered by American troops in Iraq this month is an example of America's episodic attention to this invisible war wound, which has affected hundreds of thousands over the past two decades but is not yet fully understood.Unlike physical wounds, such as burns or the loss of limbs, traumatic brain injuries aren't obvious and can take time to diagnose. The full impact — physically and psychologically — may not be evident for some time, as studies have shown links between TBI and mental health problems. They cannot be dismissed as mere “headaches” — the word used by President Donald Trump as he said the injuries suffered by the troops in Iraq were not necessarily serious.Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a…


WHO: World Needs to Be on Alert for Dangers Posed by Coronavirus

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For the third time in one week, a World Health Organization Emergency Committee will meet to decide whether the new coronavirus poses a global health threat.  The latest number of confirmed cases has risen to 7,700, including 170 deaths. The two previous emergency meetings ended inconclusively.  WHO experts were split on whether the spread of the coronavirus was large enough to constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.  But this quickly evolving disease may change some of the doubters’ minds.FILE - Tedros Adhanom, WHO director-general meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Jan. 28, 2020.WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praises the strong response taken by the Chinese government to try to stop the epidemic.  This includes the lockdown…


China Counts 170 Virus Deaths, New Countries Find Infections

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China counted 170 deaths from a new virus Thursday and more countries reported infections, including some spread locally, as foreign evacuees from China's worst-hit region returned home to medical observation and even isolation.      India and the Philippines reported their first cases, in a traveler and a student who had both been in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the new type of coronavirus first surfaced in December. South Korea confirmed a case that was locally spread, in a man who had contact with a patient diagnosed earlier.      Locally spread cases outside China have been a worrying concern among global health officials, as potential signs of the virus spreading more easily and the difficulty of containing it. The World Health Organization is reconvening experts on Thursday to…


Australia Announces Coronavirus Island Quarantine Plan

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Australia is awaiting permission from China to airlift its citizens out of the coronavirus-hit province of Hubei and put them into quarantine on a remote island in the Indian Ocean.  Health authorities say seven cases of the potentially deadly disease have been diagnosed in Australia. More than 600 Australians are waiting to be repatriated from the epicenter of the coronavirus in the Chinese city of Wuhan. American and Japanese nationals have already been flown out by their governments, and authorities in Canberra hope to do the same.However, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the rescue mission must have Chinese approval."I want to stress we cannot give a guarantee that this operation is able to succeed, and I also want to stress very clearly that we may not be in a position…


US Universities Watching for Coronavirus

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At Arizona State University, which hosts more than 13,300 international students, people are wearing face masks and petitioning the school to cancel classes after the coronavirus was diagnosed in someone at the university who had recently returned from China.“From stores selling out of surgical masks to students calling for class cancellations, the 2019 novel coronavirus has taken ASU by storm since Sunday’s announcement that a member of the community was infected with the viral illness,” wrote the student newspaper, The State Press.While a planeload of Americans flown from China to the U.S. is being held at a California airbase for three days before they will be allowed to proceed into the country — and advised to stay for 14 to ensure they are not carrying the virus — international students…


Apple, Broadcom Told to Pay California University $1.1B Over Patents

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A federal jury Wednesday decided that Apple Inc. and Broadcom Inc. must pay $1.1 billion to the California Institute of Technology for infringing on patents.Apple was on the hook for nearly $838 million of the damages awarded in a lawsuit that said Broadcom used its patented Wi-Fi data transmission technology in computer chips that went into iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and other Apple devices.Caltech, the superstar tech school based in Pasadena, said it was pleased by the verdict of the Los Angeles jury.“As a nonprofit institution of higher education, Caltech is committed to protecting its intellectual property in furtherance of its mission to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education,” a school statement said.Emails seeking comment from Cupertino-based Apple and Broadcom weren't immediately returned Wednesday night…


Wuhan Building Two Hospitals in Just Days

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A massive mobilization is underway in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Officials are racing to build two new medical centers from the ground up in a matter of days. A new coronavirus spreading from the city is flooding the country's health care system. Hospitals are overcrowded with sick people and those who think they may be infected. The new facilities aim to help carry the load. But experts say China's health care system faces long-term challenges. VOA's Steve Baragona has more. ...


As Coronavirus Outbreak Expands, Airlines Suspend Flights to China

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The World Health Organization will decide Thursday whether to designate the coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency, but countries are taking action. New travel warnings advise people to avoid nonessential travel to China, and airlines have begun suspending flights to cities in mainland China. For the millions of people now under lockdown in the outbreak zone, the immediate future remains uncertain. VOA’s Mariama Diallo has more.  VOA's Tatiana Vorozhko also contributed to this report. ...


Nigeria’s Separated Conjoined Twins Live Normal Lives

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NASSARAWA, NIGERIA — Nigerian twin girls joined in the chest and abdominal regions are now living virtually normal lives, weeks after being successfully separated at the state-owned National Hospital.  Medical experts say the operation was the most complicated case of conjoined twins separation ever performed in Nigeria.An event in Abuja to announce the successful separation of seventeen-month-old Nigerian twin sisters, Goodness and Mercy, starts on a celebratory note.The mother of the twins, Mariam Martins, was not celebrating when she learned her girls were conjoined.  She said their condition was undetected during pregnancy."None of the scans showed that they were joined. The doctors didn't know that they were joined, they only told me that they're in one place and using one placenta," she said.Sorry, but your player cannot support embedded video…


US Warns Information-Sharing at Risk as Britain Approves Huawei 5G Rollout

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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned that the United States will only pass information across what he termed "trusted networks" and criticized close ally Britain over its decision to allow the Chinese firm Huawei to build parts of the country's 5G mobile network.  Speaking to reporters Wednesday en route to London, where he is due to meet Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, Pompeo said putting Huawei into the British system "creates a real risk."The top U.S. diplomat described Huawei as an extension of China's communist party that is obligated to hand over information to the party, adding that the Trump administration will evaluate Britain's decision. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to reporters aboard his plane en route to London, Jan. 29, 2020."We will…


Chinese Farmers, Supermarkets Race to Supply Food to Locked Down Wuhan

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China has told farmers to step up vegetable production, opened roads for delivery trucks and is punishing those trying to profit in order to keep feeding residents of the locked down city of Wuhan at the center of the new coronavirus outbreak.Authorities cut most transport links to the central Chinese city last week to try to halt the spread of the flu-like virus. Thousands of cases have been reported in China, with a small number in countries including the United States, Thailand and Singapore.The unprecedented move prompted people in the city of 11 million to rush to supermarkets to stock up on instant noodles, vegetables and whatever else they could put their hands on.Residents say there has yet to be an acute shortage of food, although shelves are cleared quickly…


Investors, Entrepreneurs Meet in Silicon Valley to Discuss African Investment

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Barbara Birungi Mutabazi has a vision: Train Ugandan women to code and do other technology work."The beauty of this is that even if there are not enough jobs in Uganda, if you have the right skills, you can work for any organization around the world,” said Mutabazi, who runs Women in Technology, a skills-training organization in Uganda.Mutabazi recently attended the African Diaspora Investment Symposium to find investors and possible employers for the young women she trains. The event brought together entrepreneurs, investors and businesses to talk about the future of Africa business."The African Diaspora Network is trying to bring Africans and friends of Africa together to collaborate, create and to imagine possibilities for the continent,” said Almaz Negash, the founder and executive director of the African Diaspora Network and the…


Singapore Prepares for Doctor Visits over Video Call

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In a 2017 episode of the TV show "The Good Wife," a doctor in Chicago is seen advising a dental surgery in Syria, over Skype. Such remote operations, part of an emerging sector known as telemedicine, is not only the stuff of televised fiction, but a real technology that is attracting increasing attention from business and government. That includes Singapore, which has introduced telemedicine legislation in a nation whose medical research and development already has impacts across borders.Telemedicine lawSingapore will regulate telemedicine businesses as part of its upcoming Healthcare Services Act 2020.These services already “have become increasingly popular and are poised to become a key feature of Singapore’s health care system,” said Marian Ho, a senior partner in the corporate division of Dentons Rodyk Singapore, a law firm.Regulate medical services…


Leaked Report Shows United Nations Suffered Hack

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The United Nations has been hacked.An internal confidential document from the United Nations, leaked to The New Humanitarian and seen by The Associated Press, says that dozens of servers were “compromised” at offices in Geneva and Vienna.Those include the U.N. human rights office, which has often been a lightning rod of criticism from autocratic governments for its calling-out of rights abuses.One U.N. official told the AP that the hack, which was first detected over the summer, appeared “sophisticated” and that the extent of the damage remains unclear, especially in terms of personal, secret or compromising information that may have been stolen. The official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity to speak freely about the episode, said systems have since been reinforced.The level of sophistication was so high that it…


Americans Pass Health Test After Being Evacuated from China

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A plane evacuating more than 200 Americans from a Chinese city at the center of a virus outbreak continued Wednesday on to southern California after everyone aboard passed a health screening test in Anchorage, where the aircraft had stopped to refuel.All 201 passengers had already been through two screenings in China and were screened twice more in Anchorage by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One passenger received medical attention for a minor injury that happened before boarding the airplane in China, according to a news release from Alaska's Department of Health and Social Services.A nearly empty lobby at the North Terminal of the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska, is shown, Jan. 28, 2020.The U.S. government chartered the plane to fly out diplomats from the U.S.…


Virus Outbreak Impacts Africans at Home and Abroad

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African nations are preparing for what experts believe is the inevitable emergence of cases of coronavirus on the continent. With growing economic ties and increased travel between the African continent and China, health professionals say they must be ready to treat and isolate cases.On Tuesday, Ethiopia announced it had quarantined three Ethiopian students and one Chinese student returning from a university in Wuhan, China. The students were stopped during a screening at the airport when it was discovered they had symptoms including sore throat and a cough.Dr. Munir Kassa, chief of staff for Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, said the country has been determined to stay ahead of the outbreak. Since the beginning of January, the Ethiopian government has communicated with the World Health Organization and the Chinese government for status…


Source: Jet Carrying Americans from China Outbreak Zone Lands in US

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An airplane that a federal official said was evacuating as many as 240 Americans from a Chinese city at the center of a virus outbreak has landed in the U.S.The U.S. government chartered the plane to fly out diplomats from the U.S. Consulate in Wuhan, where the latest coronavirus outbreak started, and other U.S. citizens. The plane made a refueling stop in Alaska before flying on to Southern California, the U.S. Embassy in China has said.The white cargo plane with red and gold stripes and no passenger windows arrived at the mostly desolate North Terminal just after 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, local time.The jetway was extended from the end of the terminal, but it also had no windows. Passengers were not visible.Media were held in a concourse between the airport’s two…


US, Japan Evacuate Citizens from China as Coronavirus Outbreak Toll Rises to 132

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The first evacuations of foreign nationals from China took place Wednesday as the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak soared to 132 people.A chartered jet flew 206 Japanese nationals from Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, to Tokyo's Haneda airport Wednesday.  Four passengers were taken to a hospital after complaining of feeling ill.  Medical personnel were on board the flight to screen the passengers before take-off and again when the plane landed.  The Associated Press says a chartered jet evacuated an unknown number of Americans out of Wuhan on a flight to Anchorage, Alaska, where they will be re-screened for the virus.  Australia, New Zealand, France, Russia and other nations also have announced plans to evacuate their citizens out of Wuhan this week.  In addition to the increased death toll,…


Britain Grants China’s Huawei Limited Role in 5G Network Rollout

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Britain will allow China's Huawei Technologies Co. to help build the country's next-generation cellular network, dealing a blow to a U.S. campaign to launch a worldwide boycott of the telecom equipment giant.The British government said Tuesday it would permit Huawei to build less critical parts of the country's new high-speed 5G wireless network.The U.S. has campaigned against Huawei for more than a year, noting concerns about national security and the Chinese firm's relations with the country's Communist Party. On Tuesday, the White House said U.S. President Donald Trump discussed "critical regional and bilateral issues, including telecommunications security," during a phone call with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson."The United States is disappointed by the U.K.'s decision," said a senior Trump administration official Tuesday. "There is no safe option for untrusted vendors…


WHO Warns Visitors Evacuated from China Could Spread Coronavirus

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The World Health Organization warns the evacuation of nationals from China to their home countries carries the risk of spreading the deadly coronavirus.  The WHO reports 4,428 cases of the disease in China, including 106 deaths. Another 45 cases are confirmed in 13 countries. WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is wrapping up several days of talks with China’s President Xi Jinping and other high-level officials in Beijing.  They have been discussing measures to protect the health of Chinese citizens and foreigners during the coronavirus outbreak.WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier says officials also have considered possible alternatives to the evacuation of foreigners from China to ensure no infections are imported back to their home countries.  He calls that a real possibility as the incubation period of the coronavirus is between one and 14…


Australia Increases Border, Biosecurity Measures as Coronavirus Cases Spread

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At least five people in Australia have tested positive for the coronavirus.  The latest is a young Chinese student diagnosed in Sydney.  Australia is increasing its border and biosecurity measures. Medical authorities are warning it is likely there will be more confirmed cases in Australia of the potentially deadly coronavirus.  School children in New South Wales state have been told to stay away from class for two weeks if they have been in contact with a confirmed case of the disease.  Symptoms of the virus include fever, difficulty breathing and coughing.Children, wearing face masks, wait for their mother after arriving in Sydney, Jan. 23, 2020, from a flight from Wuhan, China.The coronavirus causes severe respiratory infection and there is no cure or vaccine.  Most of the deaths have been of those…


Thai Tourism Industry on Alert to Stop Spread of Coronavirus

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Thailand has announced the 10th case of the coronavirus as government authorities say the outbreak is still under control. Meanwhile, Asian airlines such as Chinese Eastern Airline are still taking passengers home to China's epicenter in Wuhan, despite a ban on outgoing flights from the epicenter. Steve Sandford speaks to Asian tourism workers and government officials about the evolving crisis in southern Thailand in the midst of celebrations of the Chinese New Year.  ...


Death Toll in China Coronavirus Outbreak Now Over 100

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The United States, Japan and other countries are sending planes to evacuate their citizens out of the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the global coronavirus outbreak that has now killed 106 people.Japan is sending a chartered jet to Wuhan Tuesday to evacuate about 200 of the 650 Japanese nationals in the city.  The United States is preparing to fly staff from its consulate in Wuhan, along with some American citizens, sometime this week.  France and other nations have also announced plans to evacuate their citizens out of Wuhan.  Chinese health authorities announced an additional 25 deaths on Tuesday, including the first fatality reported in the capital city of Beijing.  The total number of confirmed cases in China now stands at well over 4,500.  Authorities have imposed a…