Google Works with World Health Officials to Combat Virus Lies Online

All, News
 The World Health Organization is working with Google to ensure that people get facts from WHO first when they search for information about the new virus that recently emerged in China.       Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the opening of WHO's executive board meeting on Monday that social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Tencent and TikTok have also taken steps to limit the spread of misinformation and rumors about the virus and outbreak that first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December and has now spread to 23 other countries.      “To that end, we have worked with Google to make sure people searching for information about coronavirus see WHO information at the top of their search results,” he said.       WHO officials…
Read More

Philippines Reports First Coronavirus Death Outside China

All, News
As the deadly coronavirus continues to spread worldwide, it has killed its first patient outside China. News reports from the Philippines say a Chinese man from Wuhan, in Hubei province where the virus was first detected, died in a hospital in Manila a few days after arriving there. Many countries, including the United States, are denying entry to all foreign visitors who had recently been to China as part of a global effort to stop the spread. VOA's Zlatica Hoke reports people returning home from China are being quarantined. ...
Read More

China Opens New Hospital, Other Nations Impose Travel Bans in Response to Virus

All, News
*/ /-->/ /-->/ /-->/ /-->/ /-->/ The Latest:Passengers arrive at LAX from Shanghai, China, after a positive case of the coronavirus was announced in the Orange County suburb of Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 26, 2020.Chad Wolf, acting Homeland Security secretary, said that the overall risk to Americans remains low. He added that the new rules could add stress and travel time for some passengers, but "public health and security experts agree these measures are necessary to contain the virus and protect the American people," he said.President Donald Trump told Fox News that the United States has "shut down" the coronavirus coming in from China, even as officials in San Francisco reported a ninth confirmed U.S. case."We've offered China help but we can't have thousands of people coming in who…
Read More

US Flight Rules on China Visits will Pose New Airline Challenges

All, News
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued rules on Sunday to implement new restrictions on Americans who have recently visited China to address the threat of the coronavirus.Airline officials said Sunday the new rules will mean they must now ask all U.S.-bound passengers if they have visited mainland China. Airlines are expected to scrutinize passports of travelers, and warned the new rules could require passengers to arrive even earlier for U.S.-bound flights.American Airlines Inc said Sunday it encouraged U.S.-bound passengers "to arrive at the airport three hours early as we expect this additional screening will lengthen the normal check-in process."The United States said Friday that for flights departing after 5 p.m. EST Sunday, it will bar entry to nearly all foreign visitors who have been in China within the…
Read More

Trump: US Has ‘Shut Down’ Coronavirus Coming in From China

All, News
President Donald Trump says the United States has "shut down" the coronavirus coming in from China even as officials in San Francisco report the ninth confirmed U.S. case."We've offered China help but we can't have thousands of people coming in who may have this problem, the coronavirus," Trump told Fox News in a special Super Bowl pregame interview. "So we're going to see what happens, but we did shut it down."National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien told CBS's Face the Nation that the administration has offered China help — specifically sending experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But China has yet to accept the U.S. offer."So far, the Chinese have been more transparent certainly than in past crises and we appreciate that," O'Brian said. "We've got tremendous expertise.…
Read More

First Coronavirus Death Reported Outside China

All, News
*/ /-->/ /-->/ /-->/ /-->/ /-->/ The Latest:A clerk wearing a face mask and a plastic bag stands in a pharmacy in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province, Jan. 31, 2020.Reports, including some from Wuhan residents, indicate that early information about the outbreak was covered up, and many people, including doctors, speaking about the virus in December were threatened by the government or even detained."These rumors were already flying around the Chinese internet," Flora Fauna, an American Wuhan resident who asked to be referred to by her pseudonym, told VOA Mandarin about the beginning of the outbreak in December."So, in response, the city governments dispatched the police to arrest people who were spreading this information," she said.Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a news…
Read More

Tokyo to ‘Strengthen Testing’ for Coronavirus Before Olympics

All, News
Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike promised Sunday to implement "thorough measures" to protect people from the deadly coronavirus in the run-up to this summer's Olympic Games.At the opening of the $330 million Ariake Arena, venue for Olympic volleyball and Paralympic wheelchair basketball, Koike said:"I will implement even more stringent measures to tackle infectious diseases. I am having discussions this weekend with senior officials to assure the safety and security of people in Tokyo — specifically focusing on ways to prevent the spread of the virus and strengthen testing systems."Koike also urged people to wash their hands and wear surgical masks to help protect them from disease.Japan has warned citizens against non-essential travel to China, where the outbreak began, and fast-tracked new rules including limits on entering the country as it tries…
Read More

China Reports Bird Flu Outbreak in Hunan Province 

All, News
As if health officials in China don't have enough on their hands with a spreading coronavirus, now officials announced an outbreak of bird flu.China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced Saturday an outbreak of a highly pathogenic strain of H5N1 bird flu at a farm in the southern province of Hunan.The virus was discovered on a farm with nearly 8,000 chickens — more than half of them have already died because of the outbreak.China is not alone in trying to tamp down the spread of this virus.Earlier this week authorities in India started culling chickens and destroying eggs to contain the bird flu virus.And a different strain — the H5N8 virus — has spread throughout eastern Europe in recent weeks.A bird flu outbreak in China back in 2013 ended…
Read More

New Tech Could Make Coronavirus Vaccine in Record Time

All, News
A vaccine against the new Wuhan coronavirus may start testing in as little as three months, according to National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci.That’s fast.It took 20 months before a vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS, was ready for clinical trials.That doesn’t mean you can line up for a shot in three months. The vaccine will need to be tested for safety and efficacy. That will take months more.But the time it takes to go from outbreak to vaccine candidate is shorter than ever, thanks in part to a new kind of vaccine.A lab assistant works on samples with Christian Drosten, director of the institute for virology of Berlin's Charite hospital on his researches on the coronavirus in Berlin, Jan. 21, 2020.Eighteenth century techEver since…
Read More

North Korea Suspends All Air, Train Links to China

All, News
*/ /-->/ /-->/ /-->/ The Latest:As of Friday, North Korea has not reported any confirmed cases as the number of cases and deaths related to the virus continue to increase worldwide.  North Korea is also taking precautionary measures to close its border with South Korea, where there were 12 confirmed cases as of Friday.On Thursday, Pyongyang requested that Seoul close their inter-Korean liaison office in North Korea’s border town of Kaesong until the virus is “completely eased.” South Korea complied. North Korea also notified that its demand made in October for South Korea to tear down resort facilities on the North’s tourist site of Mount Kumgang should be postponed. North Korea has called closing its borders against the coronavirus a matter of “national existence.”Pyongyang is worried that its rudimentary medical care system…
Read More

Q&A: How the Coronavirus Differs from the Flu and SARS

All, News
*/ /-->/ /-->/ /-->/ The Latest:Q: “And about the death rate, I think I’ve seen that it’s like, you know, there’s just the raw numbers coming out of China. It’s about 2 percent, but that's people who have been in the hospital right?”PEKOSZ: “Exactly! And so the big variable that we really just can’t quantify right now is how many people are getting sick with mild symptoms that don’t have them seek out health care? And how many actually don’t really have significant symptoms at all? And both of those numbers are going to be important for two things. One, like you said, it’s going to help us understand the true sort of fatality rate associated with this virus. And the second thing is that’s going to — knowing that number is…
Read More

Climate Activists From African Nations Make Urgent Appeal

All, News
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…
Read More

Pakistan Stops Flights To, From China Amid Coronavirus Concerns

All, News
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…
Read More

China Reports Nearly 10,000 Coronavirus Cases

All, News
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…
Read More

Belgian Court Acquits 3 Doctors in Landmark Euthanasia Case

All, News
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…
Read More

Brain Injuries in Iraq Put Attention on Invisible War Wounds

All, News
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…
Read More

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

All, News
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…
Read More

China Counts 170 Virus Deaths, New Countries Find Infections

All, News
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…
Read More

Australia Announces Coronavirus Island Quarantine Plan

All, News
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…
Read More

US Universities Watching for Coronavirus

All, News
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…
Read More

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

All, Business, News, Technology
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…
Read More

Wuhan Building Two Hospitals in Just Days

All, News
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. ...
Read More

As Coronavirus Outbreak Expands, Airlines Suspend Flights to China

All, News
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. ...
Read More

Nigeria’s Separated Conjoined Twins Live Normal Lives

All, News
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…
Read More

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

All, Business, News, Technology
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…
Read More

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

All, News
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…
Read More

Investors, Entrepreneurs Meet in Silicon Valley to Discuss African Investment

All, Business, News, Technology
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…
Read More