The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for the promotion of regular and thorough hand-washing hygiene, adding that the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) can be contracted when someone infected coughs or exhales.

The global health body released a statement on February 27 titled " Getting your workplace ready for COVID-19". In the document, WHO warned that people can contract the virus if droplets of infected fluid falls on nearby surfaces and objects such as desks, tables or telephones.

The statement reads in part: "People could catch COVID-19 by touching contaminated surfaces or objects and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth – and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. "If they are standing within one meter of a person with COVID-19 they can catch it by breathing in droplets coughed out or exhaled by them.

"In other words, COVID-19 spreads in a similar way to flu. Most persons infected with COVID-19 experience mild symptoms and recover. However, some go on to experience more serious illness and may require hospital care.

"Risk of serious illness rises with age: people over 40 seem to be more vulnerable than those under 40. People with weakened immune systems and people with conditions such as diabetes, heart and lung disease are also more vulnerable to serious illness."

The document went on to list ways to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the workplace.

The document states: "Make sure your workplaces are clean and hygienic, surfaces (e.g. desks and tables) and objects (e.g. telephones, keyboards) need to be wiped with disinfectant regularly.

"Why? Because contamination on surfaces touched by employees and customers is one of the main ways that COVID-19 spreads.

"Promote regular and thorough hand-washing by employees, contractors and customers.

"Put sanitizing hand rub dispensers in prominent places around the workplace. Make sure these dispensers are regularly refilled. Display posters promoting hand-washing, ask your local public health authority for these or look on www.WHO.int. "Make sure that staff, contractors and customers have access to places where they can wash their hands with soap and water. Why? Because washing kills the virus on your hands and prevents the spread of COVID-19.

"Promote good respiratory hygiene in the workplace. Display posters promoting respiratory hygiene. Combine this with other communication measures such as offering guidance from occupational health and safety officers, briefing at meetings and information on the internet, etc.

"Ensure that face masks and/or paper tissues are available at your workplaces, for those who develop a runny nose or cough at work, along with closed bins for hygienically disposing of them. "Why? Because good respiratory hygiene prevents the spread of COVID-19. Advise employees and contractors to consult national travel advice before going on business trips.

"Brief your employees, contractors and customers that if COVID-19 starts spreading in your community, anyone with even a mild cough or low-grade fever (37.3 C or more) needs to stay at home."

WHO further advised that "employers should start doing these things now, even if COVID-19 has not arrived in the communities where they operate."
source:https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/worldNews/Coronavirus-can-spread-through-surfaces-objects-WHO-880762

Pope Francis remained ill with an apparent cold on Friday and canceled official audiences for a second day, Vatican officials announced.

The 83-year-old pontiff celebrated morning Mass as usual and greeted congregants at the end, the Vatican said.

He planned to go on with his private meeting schedule but opted to cancel his official audiences.

“The Holy Father celebrated Mass this morning and at the end, as usual, greeted the participants, but decided to postpone today’s official audiences,” spokesman Matteo Bruni said on Friday, the Vatican News reported.

“The meetings on the agenda at Casa Santa Marta continue regularly.”

The Vatican has not said exactly what the pope came down with, but he appeared to have a cold as he coughed and blew his nose during Ash Wednesday Mass.

On Thursday, he nixed a penitential Mass, marking the start of Lent, that he’d planned to celebrate at the St. John Lateran basilica across town with Roman clergy, the Vatican said.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus outbreak continues to sweep through Italy — with 650 people infected and 17 killed.

More than 400 of the cases occurred in the country’s northern Lombardy region. Three cases were reported in Rome, but each person has already recovered.

During a General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on Ash Wednesday, the pope expressed his support for coronavirus sufferers.

“I wish, again, to express my closeness to those who are ill with coronavirus and to health care workers who are caring for them,” he said.

Francis has not specifically met with coronavirus sufferers but shook hands with the faithful in the front row during the audience.

He also kissed a baby during his popemobile spin through St. Peter’s Square and greeted visiting bishops. But the clergy members appeared to refrain from kissing his ring or embracing him as they normally would.

The Argentine pope has generally been in good health. He lost part of a lung as a young man due to a respiratory illness and also suffers from sciatica.

effrey Epstein was not on suicide watch before death, official says

Jeffrey Epstein was not on suicide watch when he apparently killed himself in the New York jail where he was being held on child sex trafficking charges, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons told the New York Post Saturday.

Lee Plourde told the Post that Epstein, 66, was not "currently" on suicide watch, but declined to give further details. The Associated Press reported that Epstein had been taken off suicide watch at the end of July, adding that he had been placed on watch and given daily psychiatric evaluations following an incident in which he was found with bruising on his neck. It remains unclear whether those injuries were the result of an assault or a suicide attempt.

The wealthy financier was found unresponsive in his cell Saturday morning at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, officials said. Epstein was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Epstein had been denied bail and faced up to 45 years in prison on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. He was accused of trafficking underage girls for sex and had pleaded not guilty.

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The Bureau of Prisons confirmed that he had been housed in the jail’s Special Housing Unit, a heavily secured part of the facility that separates high-profile inmates from the general population. Until recently, the same unit had been home to the Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is now serving a life sentence at the so-called Supermax prison in Colorado.

The disclosure that Epstein was not on suicide watch is likely to further infuriate his alleged victims as well as public officials who have demanded a full investigation into his death. It is also expected to increase questions about how how the Bureau of Prisons ensures the welfare of such high-profile inmates. In October, Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger was killed in a federal prison in West Virginia where had just been transferred.

“Unequivocally, he should have been on active suicide watch and therefore under direct and constant supervision,” former federal prison warden Cameron Lindsay told the AP, adding that if Epstein's suicide is confirmed, it would represent "an unfortunate and shocking failure."

JEFFREY EPSTEIN DEAD: TIMELINE OF SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONS AND RELATED LEGAL CASES

This July 1, 2019 photo shows the Metropolitan Correctional Center, in New York. Financier Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in New York, a former law enforcement official said Saturday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked Attorney General William Barr in a letter Saturday to investigate the death.

“Every single person in the Justice Department — from your Main Justice headquarters staff all the way to the night-shift jailer — knew that this man was a suicide risk, and that his dark secrets couldn’t be allowed to die with him,” Sasse wrote.

On Friday, more than 2,000 pages of documents were released related to a since-settled lawsuit against Epstein’s ex-girlfriend by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s accusers. The records contain graphic allegations against Epstein, as well as the transcript of a 2016 deposition of Epstein in which he repeatedly refused to answer questions to avoid incriminating himself.

Sigrid McCawley, Giuffre’s attorney, said Epstein’s suicide less than 24 hours after the documents were unsealed “is no coincidence.” McCawley urged authorities to continue their investigation, focusing on Epstein associates who she said “participated and facilitated Epstein’s horrifying sex trafficking scheme.”

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Other accusers and their lawyers reacted to the news with frustration that the financier won’t have to face them in court.

“We have to live with the scars of his actions for the rest of our lives, while he will never face the consequences of the crimes he committed the pain and trauma he caused so many people,” accuser Jennifer Araoz said in a statement.

Brad Edwards, a Florida lawyer for nearly two dozen other accusers, said that “this is not the ending anyone was looking for.”

“The victims deserved to see Epstein held accountable, and he owed it to everyone he hurt to accept responsibility for all of the pain he caused,” Edwards said in a statement.

Epstein was arrested July 6 over allegations that he abused young girls from 2002 to 2005 in his Upper East Side townhouse and his Palm Beach, Florida mansion.

Prosecutors said that victims would be escorted to a room with a massage table where they would perform massages on Epstein. Investigators also found a trove of photos depicting nude and seminude young women and girls.

The research could eventually lead to new sources of organs for transplant, but ethical and technical hurdles need to be overcome.

A Japanese stem-cell scientist is the first to receive government support to create animal embryos that contain human cells and transplant them into surrogate animals since a ban on the practice was overturned earlier this year.

Hiromitsu Nakauchi, who leads teams at the University of Tokyo and Stanford University in California, plans to grow human cells in mouse and rat embryos and then transplant those embryos into surrogate animals. Nakauchi's ultimate goal is to produce animals with organs made of human cells that can, eventually, be transplanted into people.

Until March, Japan explicitly forbade the growth of animal embryos containing human cells beyond 14 days or the transplant of such embryos into a surrogate uterus. That month, Japan’s education and science ministry issued new guidelines allowing the creation of human–animal embryos that can be transplanted into surrogate animals and brought to term.

Human–animal hybrid embryos have been made in countries such as the United States, but never brought to term. Although the country allows this kind of research, the National Institutes of Health has had a moratorium on funding such work since 2015.

Nakauchi’s experiments are the first to be approved under Japan’s new rules, by a committee of experts in the science ministry. Final approval from the ministry is expected next month.

Nakauchi says he plans to proceed slowly, and will not attempt to bring any hybrid embryos to term for some time. Initially, he plans to grow hybrid mouse embryos until 14.5 days, when the animal’s organs are mostly formed and it is almost to term. He will do the same experiments in rats, growing the hybrids to near term, about 15.5 days. Later, Nakauchi plans to apply for government approval to grow hybrid embryos in pigs for up to 70 days.

“It is good to proceed stepwise with caution, which will make it possible to have a dialogue with the public, which is feeling anxious and has concerns,” says science-policy researcher Tetsuya Ishii of Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan.

Ethical concerns

Some bioethicists are concerned about the possibility that human cells might stray beyond development of the targeted organ, travel to the developing animal’s brain and potentially affect its cognition.

Nakauchi says these concerns have been taken into consideration in the experiment design. “We are trying to do targeted organ generation, so the cells go only to the pancreas,” he says.

The strategy that he and other scientists are exploring is to create an animal embryo that lacks a gene necessary for the production of a certain organ, such as the pancreas, and then to inject human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells into the animal embryo. iPS cells are those that have been reprogrammed to an embryonic-like state and can give rise to almost all cell types. As the animal develops, it uses the human iPS cells to make the organ, which it cannot make with its own cells.

In 2017, Nakauchi and his colleagues reported the injection of mouse iPS cells into the embryo of a rat that was unable to produce a pancreas. The rat formed a pancreas made entirely of mouse cells. Nakauchi and his team transplanted that pancreas back into a mouse that had been engineered to have diabetes. The rat-produced organ was able to control blood sugar levels, effectively curing the mouse of diabetes1.

But getting human cells to grow in another species is not easy. Nakauchi and colleagues announced at the 2018 American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Austin, Texas, that they had put human iPS cells into sheep embryos that had been engineered not to produce a pancreas. But the hybrid embryos, grown for 28 days, contained very few human cells, and nothing resembling organs. This is probably because of the genetic distance between humans and sheep, says Nakauchi.

It doesn’t make sense to bring human–animal hybrid embryos to term using evolutionarily distant species such as pigs and sheep because the human cells will be eliminated from host embryos early on, says Jun Wu, who researches human–animal chimaeras at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “Understanding the molecular basis and developing strategies to overcome this barrier will be necessary to move the field forward,” Wu says.

Nakauchi says the approval in Japan will allow him to attack this problem. He will be experimenting with iPS cells at subtly different stages, and trying some genetically modified iPS cells to try to determine what limits the growth of human cells in animal embryos.

References

1. 1.
   Yamaguchi, T. et al. Nature 542, 191–196 (2017).
2. Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02275-3
3. 
   

World News of Sunday, 17 February 2019

Source: bbc.com

Ex-Trump aide should be jailed for 19 - 24 years - Mueller

 US President Donald Trump's former election campaign chief Paul Manafort should be jailed for up to 24 years, special counsel Robert Mueller says.

Manafort was convicted of financial fraud on charges relating to his work as a political consultant in Ukraine.

He accepted a plea deal on the charges in return for co-operating with Mr Mueller's probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election campaign.

But he was found guilty earlier this week of breaching his plea deal.

The 69 year old, who was one of the first people to be investigated in the probe, was found to have lied to prosecutors.

On Thursday, US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that Manafort had "made multiple false statements" to the FBI, Mr Mueller's office and a grand jury.

On Friday, a court document filed by Mr Mueller's office said it agreed with a US Department of Justice calculation that Manafort should face between 19 and 24 years in prison and a fine of between $50,000 (£39,000) and $24m.



"While some of these offences are commonly prosecuted, there was nothing ordinary about the millions of dollars involved in the defendant's crimes, the duration of his criminal conduct or the sophistication of his schemes," the document reads.

"The sentence here should reflect the seriousness of these crimes, and serve to both deter Manafort and others from engaging in such conduct."

In her ruling on Wednesday, Judge Berman Jackson said there was evidence that showed Manafort had lied about three different topics, including his contacts with Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian political consultant. Prosecutors claim Mr Kilimnik had ties to Russian intelligence.

What was the plea deal?

Last August, Mr Manafort was convicted on eight counts of fraud, bank fraud and failing to disclose bank accounts.

A month later he pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy against the US and one charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice in a plea bargain with Mr Mueller. The agreement avoided a second trial on money laundering and other charges.

The plea deal meant Manafort would face up to 10 years in prison and would forfeit four of his properties and the contents of several bank accounts - but deadlocked charges from the previous trial would be dismissed.

It was the first criminal trial arising from the Department of Justice's investigation into alleged Russian interference in the presidential election.

However, the charges related only to Manafort's political consulting with pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine, largely pre-dating his role with the Trump campaign.

General News of Sunday, 30 September 2018

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

2018-09-30

Melania Trump visits Ghana on Tuesday

Melania Trump, the First Lady of the United States of America will be in Ghana on Monday as part of her working visit to four African countries on a mission to promote child welfare.

Ghana would be the first African country Donald Trump’s wife would visit before proceeding to three other countries which include Malawi, Kenya and Egypt.

Melania Trump’s first major solo international trip comes five months after she launched her ‘Be Best’ campaign since May. The project entails that Mrs. Trump would travel to meet with children all over the world in a bid to promote successful organizations and programs that share her goal and work closely with the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID.

First Lady Melania Trump revealed on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that “October 2 will mark the first day of my solo visit to four beautiful and very different countries in Africa – Ghana, Malawi, Kenya, and Egypt – all of which have worked alongside USAID and our partners to make great progress in overcoming some of their biggest challenges.”

The 48-years-old First Lady added that, “Our discussions are always united by the universal desire to provide children with the support and tools necessary to grow up happy, healthy, and responsible adults. I am thrilled to be working with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on what I know will be a meaningful trip”,

As Mrs. Trump’s trip focuses on maternal and newborn care in hospitals, education for children, she hopes to liaise with Ghana’s First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo to promote her campaign.

“I’d like to take a moment and thank the First Lady of Ghana for being with us today. Mrs Akufo-Addo, I look forward to visiting your country and know we will find ways to continue working together even after my visit. In Ghana, USAID’s programs have focused on healthcare by supporting efforts to expand the coverage and quality of health care for mothers and newborns, and educating women and young children about the importance of proper nutrition,” Mrs. Trump said on Wednesday.

The trip is expected to be one of the defining moments where Ghana would showcase its rich cultural heritage and deep-rooted history to the world.

World News of Tuesday, 11 September 2018

Source: africanews.com

U.S. marks 17th anniversary of 9/11 attacks

Americans are commemorating September 11 with sombre tributes, volunteer projects and a new monument to victims, after a year when two attacks demonstrated the enduring threat to the nation’s biggest city.

Thousands of people are expected to gather in New York City, Washington D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday to remember the nearly 3,000 people killed when hijacked jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001.

In New York City, a ceremony will take place at the 9/11 Memorial, where mourners gather as they have every year since the attack, for the annual reading of victims’ names from both the 1993 and 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.

They will also observe a citywide moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. , the time American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower, with a second pause at 9:03 a.m. when United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower.

Further moments of silence will be observed at 9:37 a.m., when American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon; at 9:59 a.m. when the South Tower fell; at 10:03 a.m. when United Flight 93 hit the ground near Shanksville, Pennsylvania; and at 10:28 a.m., when the North Tower collapsed.

Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the suicide attacks and a U.S.-led war in Afghanistan followed.

 

 

World News of Sunday, 9 September 2018

Source: africanews.com

Egypt opens a 4000-year old tomb to the public 

Egypt on Saturday allowed the public to visit a 4000-year old tomb in the Saqqara necropolis near Giza for the first time in a bid to promote tourism.

The tomb, discovered in 1940 by Egyptologist Zaki Saad, belongs to an ancient Egypt high-ranking official named Mehu who was related to the first king of the 6th dynasty.

“It is a beautiful tomb, and it was discovered in 1940. We are making sure to constantly present cultural content for tourists. This is why we open tombs for visitors and in the past two or three years, we opened a large number of museums such as Sohag’s museum after 30 years of works. Today we opened this previously discovered tomb to invite ambassadors and show the media that Egypt is safe,” said Egyptian Minister of Antiquities, Khaled El Anany.

The tomb included two chambers both with wall inscriptions of the owner of the tomb hunting as well as drawings showing aspects of Ancient Egyptian lives such as hunting and acrobatic dancing.

Mehu lived during the reign of King Pepi and held 48 titles, found inscribed on the walls of his chamber.

“To say that there is a tomb dated back 4200 years ago is opening for the first time for the public. The tomb belongs to a very important person, his name is Mehu. He was a vizier, the chief of judges and the director of the palace at the time of the King Titi, the first king of the 6th dynasty,” said Egytpian Archaeologist and Egyptology, Zahi Hawass.

“It is a 4500-year old tomb from the 6th dynasty. It is during the King Pepi rule. It is a family tomb of a father, son and grandson. We are seeing Mehu, his son Meren Ra and his grandson Heteb Kha. The tombs owner had 48 titles,” said head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Al-Waziri.

Egypt is hoping these discoveries will brighten its image abroad and revive interest among travelers who once flocked to its iconic pharaonic temples and pyramids but who have shunned the country since its 2011 political uprising.

World News of Friday, 7 September 2018

Source: bbc.com

Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's presidential front-runner, stabbed at rally

 A front-runner in Brazil's presidential election, Jair Bolsonaro, has been stabbed during a campaign rally.
The far-right politician was attacked in the city of Juiz de Fora in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais.
He underwent surgery for injuries to his liver and intestines but is now stable, his son said.

The controversial politician, who has outraged many in Brazil with racist and homophobic comments, has performed strongly in recent polls.

Polls suggest he would get the most votes in next month's presidential elections if former president Lula da Silva fails in his attempt to overturn a ban on him standing.

How did attack unfold?

Footage of the incident shows Mr Bolsonaro making a thumbs-up gesture and being held aloft by supporters when he appears to be stabbed with a knife.

He then doubles over with pain and his supporters quickly lower him to the ground and bundle him into a car.

After the attack, his son Flavio initially tweeted that the wound was "only superficial", but he gave a more sombre assessment two hours later.

"Unfortunately it was more serious than we had expected," he wrote. "The perforation reached part of the liver, the lung and the intestines. He lost a lot of blood, arrived at the hospital with a (blood) pressure of 10/3, almost dead. His condition now seems stabilised. Pray, please!"

Police say a suspect has been arrested. He was named as Adelio Obispo de Oliveira. Mr Bolsonaro's backers see him as a strong leader who would crack down on crime.

The 63-year-old, who is representing the Social Liberal Party (PSL), is followed by millions of Brazilians on social media, and many refer to him as the "Brazilian Trump".

He also supports loosening gun control laws, and is backed by millions of evangelical Christians for his uncompromising anti-abortion stand A former army captain, Mr Bolsonaro entered politics in the 1980s to defend the rights of military personnel.

What has been the reaction?

Mr Bolsonaro's electoral rivals have all condemned the stabbing. Fernando Haddad, who is expected to replace Lula da Silva on the Workers Party ticket, said the attack was "absurd and regrettable".

Speaking in the capital Brasilia, President Michel Temer said such an attack was "intolerable" in a democratic state and that he hoped Mr Bolsonaro recovered soon.

"Tolerance is a part of democracy. It is a part of the rule of law," he said.

The president's predecessor, Dilma Rousseff, warned that the attack cannot go unpunished "because it must serve as an example so that it doesn't happen to any other candidate".

Who is backing him?

Mr Bolsonaro's backers see him as a strong leader who would crack down on crime.

The 63-year-old, who is representing the Social Liberal Party (PSL), is followed by millions of Brazilians on social media, and many refer to him as the "Brazilian Trump".

He also supports loosening gun control laws, and is backed by millions of evangelical Christians for his uncompromising anti-abortion stand.

How did he become a presidential contender? A former army captain, Mr Bolsonaro entered politics in the 1980s to defend the rights of military personnel.

Brazil had just returned to democracy, and in 1989 held its first free presidential election.

Few imagined at that time that he could become a serious contender in a presidential poll. But the collapse of the Workers' Party government and the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff two years ago revealed the extent of political divisions in the country.

Brazil had just returned to democracy, and in 1989 held its first free presidential election.

Few imagined at that time that he could become a serious contender in a presidential poll. But the collapse of the Workers' Party government and the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff two years ago revealed the extent of political divisions in the country.

Mr Bolsonaro's outspoken rhetoric and his defence of law and order appealed to many who blamed the left for corruption and the economic crisis.

In 2011, he told Playboy magazine that he would be "incapable of loving a gay son" and that he would rather see such a son of his "die in an accident".

In 2015, he was fined for saying in a newspaper interview that Congresswoman Maria do Rosario was "not worth raping; she is very ugly".
He is currently being investigated for alleged racism over derogatory remarks he made about Afro-Brazilians.