Tag Archives: WorldNews

Scientists find the order that COVID-19 symptoms will most likely appear in

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By analysing tens of thousands of patients researchers have identified which symptoms appear first if you contract coronavirus compared to the common flu. It’s a finding they hope will lead to earlier detection of the virus around the world.

Japan’s travel ban to contain virus unfair, Western businesses say

Get over it! People before profit is the way to survival and in the end a healthy economy!

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TOKYO (REUTERS) – Four Western business lobbies joined in protesting against Japan’s travel ban to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, saying the policy is out of step with measures in other major economies and will harm investment.

Many countries have imposed travel curbs to battle the pandemic, but Japan’s are among the most strict, effectively banning the entry of tourists and visa holders from more than 140 countries.

“This policy is contrary to the treatment Japan receives from other G-7 and other leading countries who treat long-term foreign residents equally to citizens on health matters,” the groups said in a statement released on Tuesday (Aug 18).

The joint letter was signed by business lobbies from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Europe.

The US and European groups had previously issued complaints about the policy.

Japan allows its citizens to return to the country if they take a coronavirus test at the port of entry and observe a period of self-quarantine.

Foreigners living in Japan face much higher hurdles for re-entry.

These measures “can only discourage foreign nationals, and the companies they work for, from investing in Japan”, the business groups said.

Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The government announced last month it would start “phased measures” to restore travel depending on infection conditions, starting with 12 Asian countries.

Restrictions to contain the spread of the virus have devastated Japan’s economy, which posted its biggest contraction on record in the second quarter.

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Belarusians are speaking as one: Alexander Lukashenko’s time is up | David Kurkovskiy

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More than a week after a sham election, public rage has not died down

“And what is it, what is it that they want / Centuries despised: those deaf, blind ones? / To be called people.” These words by Janka Kupala, Belarus’s national poet, published in the early 1900s, have come to mind in recent days as protests have rippled through the nation. Twenty-six years after Alexander Lukashenko came to power in the Republic of Belarus’ first and last democratic elections – almost immediately stripping the country of any ambitions to recover its national language, democratic process or historic myths and symbols after more than 70 years under the Soviet yoke – Belarus and Belarusians are seeing for the first time a fighting chance at meaningful politics and civic rights. Make no mistake, a people once described as the “dark, despised ones” (ciomny, pahardžany narod) have crossed a point of no return.

Olga Shparaga, a leading Belarusian political philosopher (whom I work alongside at the European College of Liberal Arts), described the emotions of fellow protesters in a phone conversation last Wednesday morning: “People are completely infuriated, ready to go wherever they need. This is not the time to think, but to act.” The protests followed the sham election on 9 August: the election commission gave Lukashenko approximately 80% of the vote when in all likelihood the main opposition actually won by a landslide. Unable to take these lies any longer, Belarusians took to the polling stations and streets in peaceful protest, only to be brutally attacked, gassed and shot at by riot police.

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Belarus live updates: Fractures form in diplomatic elite

Belarus’ ambassador to Slovakia is stepping down after siding with protesters calling for President Alexander Lukashenko’s resignation. Four other diplomats have also abandoned their posts.

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Belarus’ ambassador to Slovakia is stepping down after siding with protesters calling for President Alexander Lukashenko’s resignation. Four other diplomats have also abandoned their posts. Follow DW for the latest.

China reports 22 new coronavirus cases

22! Thousands in US… 22 in China! Let that sink in…

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BEIJING (REUTERS) – China reported on Tuesday (Aug 18) 22 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for August 17, same as the tally a day earlier, the health authority said.

All of the new infections were imported cases, the National Health Commission said in a statement, making it the second straight day for zero new locally transmitted cases. There were no new deaths.

China also reported 17 new asymptomatic patients, compared with 37 a day earlier.

As of August 17, mainland China had a total of 84,871 confirmed coronavirus cases, it said. China’s death toll from the coronavirus remained unchanged at 4,634.

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Here Are Six Accidents UNC Researchers Had With Lab-Created Coronaviruses

There have been mouse bites and spills and other mishaps during experiments involving genetically altered coronaviruses at a high-security lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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by Alison Young and Jessica Blake for ProPublica

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published.

From Jan. 1, 2015, through June 1, 2020, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reported 28 lab incidents involving genetically engineered organisms to safety officials at the National Institutes of Health, according to documents UNC released to ProPublica under a public records request. The NIH oversees research involving genetically modified organisms.

Six of the incidents involved various types of lab-created coronaviruses. Many were engineered to allow the study of the virus in mice. UNC declined to answer questions about the incidents and to disclose key details about them to the public, including the names of viruses involved, the nature of the modifications made to them and what risks were posed to the public, contrary to NIH guidelines.

UNC said in a statement that it “notified the proper oversight agencies about the incidents and took corrective action as needed.”

August 2015: Two researchers required medical monitoring after a mouse briefly escaped inside one of UNC’s biosafety level 3 labs. The mouse, which had been infected with an undisclosed type of “mouse adapted” virus, squirmed free of a researcher’s gloved hand and onto the lab floor. It was caught inside the lab and returned to its cage. UNC officials refused to disclose the name of the virus, but NIH officials told ProPublica it was a type of “SARS-associated Coronavirus.” Incident reports say the mouse was no longer believed to be infectious and the researchers were wearing protective gear including powered respirators. Still, the incident was deemed a potential exposure and the workers were required to report their temperatures and any symptoms twice daily for 10 days. Neither was sickened.

October 2015: Three UNC researchers were potentially exposed to an undisclosed “mouse adapted” virus when a shallow container fell to the floor of a biosafety level 3 lab, spilled and potentially created aerosolized droplets. NIH officials told ProPublica the incident involved a type of SARS-associated coronavirus. Even though the three researchers in the lab at the time were wearing safety gear and powered air-purifying respirators, university safety officials deemed it a “potential exposure.” The workers were placed on medical surveillance for 10 days. None were sickened.

November 2015: Two UNC lab workers were potentially exposed to a lab-created type of MERS coronavirus when an empty cage with contaminated animal bedding spilled on the floor of a biosafety level 3 lab. A researcher was in the process of transferring MERS-infected mice to a clean cage when the dirty cage was knocked over. The two workers in the UNC lab at the time of the incident left and allowed the aerosolized particles from the incident to settle to the ground before returning to decontaminate the area. Even though the two workers were wearing head-to-toe protective gear and powered respirators, the incident was deemed a potential exposure. They were placed on medical surveillance for 10 days and required to report temperatures and any symptoms twice daily. Neither was sickened.

February 2016: A mouse infected with an undisclosed “mouse adapted” virus bit a researcher’s finger through two layers of gloves as she tried to weigh it in a biosafety level 3 lab. NIH officials told ProPublica that the incident involved a type of SARS-associated coronavirus. Following lab procedures, the researcher disinfected her gloves and allowed the wound to bleed for a minute before washing her hands with soap and water for five minutes. She was evaluated at UNC’s employee occupational health clinic where the medical director discussed options for isolating the researcher. Instead, “the researcher was required to wear a surgical mask while in public and at work” and to report her temperature and any symptoms twice daily. The reports note the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was also alerted because the virus involved in the incident is on a list of dangerous pathogens that are federally regulated. The report says “updates were provided to the CDC throughout the medical monitoring period.” The researcher was not sickened.

April 2017: A plate containing virus from lung samples from a mouse infected with an undisclosed type of virus was dropped by a researcher in a biosafety level 3 lab, spilling a small amount of virus material onto an incubator door and the floor. While UNC wouldn’t disclose the virus’s name, NIH told ProPublica that it was a type of SARS-associated coronavirus. In this incident, the university’s employee occupational health clinic said it would not be necessary for the three researchers who were in the lab to report their temperatures to the clinic because the spill was small and the researchers’ safety gear was intact. The workers were advised to do their usual daily self-monitoring for any respiratory symptoms or temperature. No further information about the workers’ health was included in the incident reports.

April 2020: A UNC scientist underwent 14 days of self-quarantine at home after a mouse bite caused potential exposure to a strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, that had been adapted for growth in mice. The incident in a biosafety level 3 lab happened when a researcher attempted to read the ID number on a tag on a mouse’s ear. The mouse flipped over in the researcher’s hand and bit an index finger through two layers of gloves. It did not appear to break the researcher’s skin, but UNC told NIH in its reports that “given the uncertainty surrounding the exposure, we are treating this as a medium/high risk exposure.” The researcher was instructed to self-quarantine and do twice-daily temperature checks. UNC also notified the local Health Department. No further information about the worker’s health was included in the incident reports.

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Belarus opposition leader says she’s ready to lead if security forces switch sides

Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is calling for new laws to allow another election to take place in Belarus, telling security forces and police officers past behaviour will be forgiven if they stop supporting President Alexander Lukashenko.

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Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is calling for new laws to allow another election to take place in Belarus, telling security forces and police officers past behaviour will be forgiven if they stop supporting President Alexander Lukashenko.