#loan sites kenya

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #19

May 17-24 2024

President Biden wiped out the student loan debt of 160,000 more Americans. This debt cancellation of 7.7 billion dollars brings the total student loan debt relieved by the Biden Administration to $167 billion. The Administration has canceled student loan debt for 4.75 million Americans so far. The 160,000 borrowers forgiven this week owned an average of $35,000 each and are now debt free. The Administration announced plans last month to bring debt forgiveness to 30 million Americans with student loans coming this fall.

The Department of Justice announced it is suing Ticketmaster for being a monopoly. DoJ is suing Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation for monopolistic practices. Ticketmaster controls 70% of the live show ticket market leading to skyrocketing prices, hidden fees and last minute cancellation. The Justice Department is seeking to break up Live Nation and help bring competition back into the market. This is one of a number of monopoly law suits brought by the Biden administration against Apple in March and Amazon in September 2023.

The EPA announced $225 million in new funding to improve drinking and wastewater for tribal communities. The money will go to tribes in the mainland US as well as Alaska Native Villages. It'll help with testing for forever chemicals, and replacing of lead pipes as well as sustainability projects.

The EPA announced $300 million in grants to clean up former industrial sites. Known as "Brownfield" sites these former industrial sites are to be cleaned and redeveloped into community assets. The money will fund 200 projects across 178 communities. One such project will transform a former oil station in Philadelphia’s Kingsessing neighborhood, currently polluted with lead and other toxins into a waterfront bike trail.

The Department of Agriculture announced a historic expansion of its program to feed low income kids over the summer holidays. Since the 1960s the SUN Meals have served in person meals at schools and community centers during the summer holidays to low income children. This Year the Biden administration is rolling out SUN Bucks, a $120 per child grocery benefit. This benefit has been rejected by many Republican governors but in the states that will take part 21 million kids will benefit. Last year the Biden administration introduced SUN Meals To-Go, offering pick-up and delivery options expanding SUN's reach into rural communities. These expansions are part of the Biden administration's plan to end hunger and reduce diet-related disease by 2030.

Vice-President Harris builds on her work in Africa to announce a plan to give 80% of Africa internet access by 2030, up from just 40% today. This push builds off efforts Harris has spearheaded since her trip to Africa in 2023, including $7 billion in climate adaptation, resilience, and mitigation, and $1 billion to empower women. The public-private partnership between the African Development Bank Group and Mastercard plans to bring internet access to 3 million farmers in Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria, before expanding to Uganda, Ethiopia, and Ghana, and then the rest of the continent, bring internet to 100 million people and businesses over the next 10 years. This is together with the work of Partnership for Digital Access in Africa which is hoping to bring internet access to 80% of Africans by 2030, up from 40% now, and just 30% of women on the continent. The Vice-President also announced $1 billion for the Women in the Digital Economy Fund to assure women in Africa have meaningful access to the internet and its economic opportunities.

The Senate approved Seth Aframe to be a Judge on the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, it also approved Krissa Lanham, and Angela Martinez to district Judgeships in Arizona, as well as Dena Coggins to a district court seat in California. Bring the total number of judges appointed by President Biden to 201. Biden's Judges have been historically diverse. 64% of them are women and 62% of them are people of color. President Biden has appointed more black women to federal judgeships, more Hispanic judges and more Asian American judges and more LGBT judges than any other President, including Obama's full 8 years in office. President Biden has also focused on backgrounds appointing a record breaking number of former public defenders to judgeships, as well as labor and civil rights lawyers.

[moneeb0930]

ORIGINS OF HAPI (NILE) VALLEY CIVILIZATION

The progenitors of the Nile Valley civilization were Nilo-Saharan peoples who migrated to the Hapi (Nile) Valley from the Green Sahara, Nubia and Northeast Africa. The cattle cults of Het-Heru (Hathor), spiritual beliefs, iconography and cultural motifs associated with the old Kingdom can be traced to these regions prior to the unification of the two lands. The science of mummification began in Libya with the 5600 year old Tashwinat Mummy, known as the “Black Mummy of the Green Sahara''. The Black Mummy predates the oldest Kemetic mummy by over 1000 years. Astronomy and the study of the procession of the equinox began in South Africa at the site of the Adams Calendar Stone Circle and continued at the Napta Playa Stone circle located in modern day Sudan. This 7000 year old ceremonial center dried out around 3400 BC and they transferred their knowledge into the Nile Valley. The earliest images of Pharaonic Kingship were found in Nubia at the site of Qustul were the oldest depiction of Pharaonic Kingship is shown on the Qustul incense Burner. The original populations of the Nile Valley were no different than modern Sudanese, Ethiopian, Eritrean and Somali populations of today with a mixture of western Eurasians via the Levant whom for the most part settled in the Delta region. The cultural overlap of Kush and Kemet existed from the very dawn of Hapi Valley civilization and the cultural fusion was expressed in the customs and spiritual beliefs of its early inhabitants. These ancient traditions are continually practiced in Africa to this day.

Below are the results from a genome project conducted by Dr. Shomarka Keita, a Research Affiliate and Biological Anthropologist in the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution and Dr. A. J. Boyce, who works at the Institute of Biological Anthropology and St. John's College

Oxford University.

PROJECT MUSE

Genetics, Egypt, and History: Interpreting Geographical Patterns of Y Chromosome Variation

IV, XI, V=Nilotic African

VII, VIII=Near Eastern

235 S.O.Y. Keita and A. J. Boyce

Early speakers of Nilosaharan and Afroasiatic apparently interacted based on the evidence of loan words (Ehret, personal communication). Nilosaharan’s current range is roughly congruent with the so-called Saharo-Sudanese or Aqualithic culture associated with the less arid period (Wendorf and Schild 1980), and therefore cannot be seen as intrusive. Its speakers are found from the Nile to the Niger rivers in the Sahara and Sahel, and south into Kenya. The eastern Sahara was likely a micro-evolutionary processor and pump of populations, who may have developed various specific sociocultural (and linguistic) identities, but were genealogically “mixed” in terms of origins.

These identities may have further crystallized on the Nile, or fused with those of resident populations that were already differentiated. The genetic profile of the Nile Valley via the fusion of the Saharans and the indigenous peoples were likely established in the main, long before the Middle Kingdom. Post-neolithic/predynastic population growth, as based on extrapolations from settlement patterns (Butzer 1976) would have led to relative genetic stability. The population of Egypt at the end of the pre-dynastic is estimated to have been greater than 800,000, but was not evenly distributed along the valley corridor, being most concentrated in locales of important settlements (Butzer 1976). Nubia, as noted, was less densely populated.

Interactions between Nubia and Egypt (and the Sahara as well) occurred in the period between 4000 and 3000 BCE (the predynastic). There is evidence for sharing of some cultural traits between Sudan and Egypt in the neolithic (Kroeper 1996). Some items of “material” culture were also shared in the phase called Naqada I between the Nubian A-Group and upper Egypt (~3900-3650 BCE). There is good evidence for a zone of cultural overlap versus an absolute boundary (Wilkinson 1999 after Hoffman 1982, and citing evidence from Needler 1984 and Adams 1996). Hoffman (1982) noted cattle burials in Hierakonpolis, the most important of predynastic upper Egyptian cities in the later predynastic. This custom might reflect Nubian cultural impact, a common cultural background, or the presence of Nubians.

Whatever the case, there was some cultural and economic bases for all levels of social intercourse, as well as geographical proximity. There was some shared iconography in the kingdoms that emerged in Nubia and upper Egypt around 3300 BCE (Williams 1986). Although disputed, there is evidence that Nubia may have even militarily engaged upper Egypt before Dynasty I, and contributed leadership in the unification of Egypt (Williams 1986). The point of reviewing these data is to illustrate that the evidence suggests a basis for social interaction, and gene exchange.

236 S.O.Y. Keita and A. J. Boyce

There is a caveat for lower Egypt. If neolithic/predynastic northern Egyptian populations were characterized at one time by higher frequencies of VII and VIII (from Near Eastern migration), then immigration from Saharan sources could have brought more V and XI (Nilo-Saharan) in the later northern neolithic. It should further be noted that the ancient Egyptians interpreted their unifying king, Narmer (either the last of Dynasty 0, or the first of Dynasty I), as having been upper Egyptian and moving from south to north with victorious armies (Gardiner 1961, Wilkinson 1999). However, this may only be the heraldic “fixation” of an achieved politi- cal and cultural status quo (Hassan 1988), with little or no actual troup/population movements. Nevertheless, it is upper Egyptian (predy- nastic) culture that comes to dominate the country and emerges as the basis of dynastic civilization. Northern graves over the latter part of the predynastic do become like those in the south (see Bard 1994); some migration to the north may have occurred—of people as well as ideas.

238-239 S.O.Y. Keita and A. J. Boyce

After the early late pleistocene/holocene establishment of Afroasiatic-speaking populations in the Nile valley and Sahara, who can be inferred to have been predominantly, but not only V (and XI), and of Nilosaharan folk in Nubia, Sudan, and Sahara (mainly XI and IV?), mid- holocene climatic-driven migrations led to a major settlement of the valley in upper Egypt and Nubia, but less so in lower Egypt, by diverse Saharans having haplotypes IV, XI, and V in proportions that would significantly influence the Nile valley-dwelling populations.

These mid-Holocene Saharans are postulated to have been part of a process that led to a diverse but connected metapopulation. These peoples fused with the indigenous valley peoples, as did Near Easterners with VII and VIII, but perhaps also some V. With population growth the genetic profiles would become stabilized. Nubian and upper Egyptian proximity and on some level, shared culture, Nubia’s possible participation in Egyptian state-building, and later partial political absorption in Dynasty I, would have reinforced biological overlap (and been further “stabilized” by ongoing population growth).

Source:

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/187884

HEAD to HEAD: Ancient Egypt Reconstructions COMPARED (Bas Uterwijk vs TKM): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8iN6EFVTbQ&t=35s

Visit A Virtual Museum:

https://www.knowthyselfinstitute.com/museum

"I have not spoken angrily or arrogantly. I have not cursed anyone in thought, word or deeds." ~35th & 36th Principals of Ma'at

[sakileproperties01]

Affordable Apartments for Sale in Nairobi: Tips for First-Time Buyers

Buying your first home is an exciting journey, especially in a vibrant city like Nairobi. With an array of affordable houses in Nairobi, off-plan opportunities, and modern apartments, the market offers something for everyone. Whether you're drawn to affordable apartments in Kilimani or seeking other homes for sale in Nairobi, Kenya, it's important to make informed decisions to maximize your investment.

Here are some essential tips for first-time buyers navigating the Nairobi real estate market.

1. Set a Realistic Budget

Before diving into property listings, determine how much you can afford. Affordable options, like 2-bedroom apartments for sale in Kilimani, Nairobi, provide great value without compromising on quality. Remember to factor in additional costs such as legal fees, maintenance, and utilities.

2. Consider Off-Plan Projects

For buyers seeking budget-friendly options, off-plan projects in Nairobi are an excellent choice. These properties are often sold at a lower price during the construction phase, allowing you to secure a home in a prime location at a competitive rate. Partner with reputable developers to ensure quality and timely delivery.

3. Choose the Right Location

Location is key when buying property. Neighbourhoods like Kilimani are popular for their balance of affordability and convenience. Affordable apartments for sale in Kilimani offer proximity to schools, shopping centres, and business hubs, making it ideal for families and professionals alike.

4. Evaluate Your Space Needs

Think about your current and future needs. Are you single or planning to start a family? A 2-bedroom apartment in Kilimani may provide the perfect amount of space, combining modern amenities with affordability.

5. Research Property Options

Explore various property types to find the best fit for your budget and lifestyle:

Affordable Houses in Nairobi: Ideal for those seeking standalone homes.

Affordable Apartments in Kilimani: Perfect for urban dwellers who value convenience.

Off-Plan Projects: A smart investment for buyers looking to save upfront.

6. Work with a Trusted Real Estate Partner

Navigating the Nairobi real estate market can be overwhelming. Partnering with a reputable firm like Sakile Properties ensures you find the best affordable apartments for sale in Nairobi that meet your needs. We provide personalized guidance to make your property purchase seamless and stress-free.

7. Inspect the Property Thoroughly

Before making any commitments, inspect the property to ensure it meets your expectations. For off-plan projects in Nairobi, review floor plans and visit the construction site if possible. For completed properties, check the quality of finishes, amenities, and overall condition.

8. Understand Financing Options

If you require financing, consult with banks and mortgage providers to understand your loan options. Many institutions in Nairobi offer flexible plans for first-time buyers.

Conclusion

Buying your first apartment in Nairobi is a rewarding experience, especially with the variety of affordable options available. From 2-bedroom apartments for sale in Kilimani, Nairobi, to off-plan projects and other homes for sale in Nairobi, Kenya, there's something for every buyer.

At Sakile Properties, we’re here to help you find a home that matches your dreams and budget. Contact us today to explore our listings and make your first home purchase a reality!

[jobskenyaplace]

CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR CONSTRUCTION SUPERVISION OF LANDING SITES

MINISTRY OF MINING, BLUE ECONOMY AND MARITIME AFFAIRS TENDER NOVEMBER 2024  AQUACULTURE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME(ABDP IFAD Loan No. 2000002052 REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (CONSULTING FIRMS) Country Kenya Name of Project Aquaculture Business Development Programme Contract Title Consultancy services for construction supervision of landing sites ICB Reference…

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 11.20 (after 1970)

1974 – The United States Department of Justice files its final anti-trust suit against AT&T Corporation. This suit later leads to the breakup of AT&T and its Bell System. 1974 – The first fatal crash of a Boeing 747 occurs when Lufthansa Flight 540 crashes while attempting to takeoff from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, killing 59 out of the 157 people on board. 1977 – Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel, when he meets Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and speaks before the Knesset in Jerusalem, seeking a permanent peace settlement. 1979 – Grand Mosque seizure: About 200 Sunni Muslims revolt in Saudi Arabia at the site of the Kaaba in Mecca during the pilgrimage and take about 6,000 hostages. The Saudi government receives help from Pakistani special forces to put down the uprising. 1980 – Lake Peigneur in Louisiana drains into an underlying salt deposit. A misplaced Texaco oil probe had been drilled into the Diamond Crystal Salt Mine, causing water to flow down into the mine, eroding the edges of the hole. 1985 – Microsoft Windows 1.0, the first graphical personal computer operating environment developed by Microsoft, is released. 1989 – Velvet Revolution: The number of protesters assembled in Prague, Czechoslovakia, swells from 200,000 the day before to an estimated half-million. 1990 – Andrei Chikatilo, one of the Soviet Union's most prolific serial killers, is arrested; he eventually confesses to 56 killings. 1991 – An Azerbaijani MI-8 helicopter carrying 19 peacekeeping mission team with officials and journalists from Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan is shot down by Armenian military forces in Khojavend District of Azerbaijan. 1992 – In England, a fire breaks out in Windsor Castle, badly damaging the castle and causing over £50 million worth of damage. 1993 – Savings and loan crisis: The United States Senate Ethics Committee issues a stern censure of California senator Alan Cranston for his "dealings" with savings-and-loan executive Charles Keating. 1993 – North Macedonia's deadliest aviation disaster occurs when Avioimpex Flight 110, a Yakovlev Yak-42, crashes near Ohrid, killing all 116 people on board. 1994 – The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign the Lusaka Protocol in Zambia, ending 19 years of civil war. (Localized fighting resumes the next year.) 1996 – A fire breaks out in an office building in Hong Kong, killing 41 people and injuring 81. 1998 – A court in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan declares accused terrorist Osama bin Laden "a man without a sin" in regard to the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. 1998 – The first space station module component, Zarya, for the International Space Station is launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 2003 – After the November 15 bombings, a second day of the 2003 Istanbul bombings occurs in Istanbul, Turkey, destroying the Turkish head office of HSBC Bank AS and the British consulate. 2015 – Following a hostage siege, at least 19 people are killed in Bamako, Mali. 2016 – Jimmie Johnson wins his seventh NASCAR Cup Series championship to tie Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most all-time. 2022 – The 2022 FIFA World Cup begins in Qatar. This is the first time the tournament was held in the Middle East.

[rentscoreafrica]

Steps Involved in Buying a Property in Kenya

The process of purchasing a property in Kenya is distinct from other investments and often appears intricate to many. To demystify this process and assist you in embarking on this journey, we present a detailed overview of the steps involved when you engage with RentScore.

1.Commence with an Affordability Search: Utilize our affordable home loan calculator accessible on Our Website, a helpful tool designed to ascertain your budget constraints. Determine how much you can comfortably allocate to property acquisition and assess your borrowing capacity for an affordable home loan or installment plan. Our website showcases different types of properties for investment aligned with your financial boundaries and preferences.

2.Shortlist Preferred Properties: Choose properties that captivate your interest and align with your prerequisites. Compare their attributes, prices, locations, and potential returns to streamline your selection process.

3.Schedule a Consultation Call: Reach out to us to arrange a consultation call with our adept real estate agents. During this interaction, we'll delve into your needs and preferences, address any queries or uncertainties, furnish you with additional information regarding your shortlisted properties, and assist you in reaching a final decision.

4.Explore the best homes in Kenya in Person or Virtually: If you can travel to Kenya, we'll orchestrate a site visit for you to experience your chosen properties firsthand. For those unable to journey physically, a comprehensive virtual tour showcasing the property and its surroundings will be arranged.

5.Securing Your Choice: Upon finalizing your property selection, in certain developments, an initial refundable booking fee is required to secure the unit. This payment facilitates the acquisition of the Offer Letter and due diligence documents from the developer.

6.Deposit and Agreement Signing: Following meticulous due diligence to ensure the property's legitimacy and freedom from encumbrances, sign the Offer Letter and remit a deposit of up to 20% (inclusive of the booking fee) of the purchase price to the developer.

7.Contractual Commitment: Review and sign the Sale Agreement with the developer, a pivotal legally binding contract delineating the rights and obligations of both parties.

8.Progress Updates and Development Completion: During the construction phase of an off plan property, periodic quarterly updates on development progress will be dispatched. Adherence to agreed payment plans is essential. Mortgage buyers receive an Offer Letter stipulating payment terms with the developer.

9.Finalization and Handover: Upon the development's completion, an Occupation Certificate is granted to the developer by relevant authorities. This signifies the preparation of individual titles through the submission of pertinent documents, including the mother title and sectional plans.

10.Title Transfer and Possession: Fulfillment of full payment mandates stamp duty payment for property transfer and title production under your name. Mortgage buyers commence monthly repayments to the bank, while investment buyers are assisted in securing screened tenants.

The acquisition of property constitutes a significant financial commitment. Thus, it is imperative to engage a proficient team of real estate agents to navigate this journey and secure the finest available options within your financial boundaries. Venturing into this expedition without professional guidance could prove to be a misstep. At RentScore, we eagerly anticipate aiding you in accomplishing your property investment aspirations in 2024. Count on us as the discerning choice for astute buyers.

[davesdiary83]

IMF (International Monetary Fund) : Financing to address the pandemic crisis.

IMF (International Monetary Fund) : Financing to address the pandemic crisis.

The IMF has recognized the heavy burden this crisis has been to low income countries in particular and has offered financial assistance in order to protect the most vulnerable and set the stage for inclusive and sustainable recovery.

As IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva noted ahead of the April 2021 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings: “The global economy is on firmer footing as millions of people benefit from vaccines. But while the recovery is underway, too many countries are falling behind and economic inequality is worsening. Strong policy action is needed to give everyone a fair shot—a shot in the arm to end the pandemic everywhere, and a shot at a better future for vulnerable people and countries.” The Fund’s actions are focused on the following tracks:

1. Emergency financing– The IMF is responding to an unprecedented number of requests for emergency financing. The Fund has temporarily doubled the access to its emergency facilities—the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) and Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) —allowing it to meet increased demand for financial assistance from member counties during the crisis. These facilities allow the Fund to provide emergency assistance without the need to have a full-fledged program in place. Emergency financing has been approved by the IMF’s Executive Board at record speed – to 80 countries. From June, the IMF has been also approving financial assistance under its other lending arrangements, bringing the total number of countries to 85 (for the most recent detailed data, please see the IMF’s COVID-19 Financial Assistance and Debt Service Relief Tracker).

2. Grants for debt relief – The IMF has extended debt service relief through the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) to 29 of its poorest and most vulnerable member countries on their IMF obligations, covering these countries’ eligible debt falling due to the IMF for the period between April 2020 and mid-October 2021. This debt relief helps the benefiting countries channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts while these members combat the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. IMF staff are working with donors to increase funds for further debt relief through this trust, so that the duration of grant-based debt relief to our most vulnerable members can be extended to up to a two year period, ending April 2022.

3. Calls for bilateral debt relief – The IMF Managing Director and the President of the World Bank on March 25, 2020, called on bilateral creditors to suspend debt service payments from the poorest countries. The G20 responded to this call on April 15, 2020, by agreeing to suspend repayment of official bilateral credit from the poorest countries until the end of 2020, was extended until end 2021. The Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) means that G20 bilateral official creditors will, during this period, suspend debt service payments from the poorest countries (73 low- and lower middle-income countries) that request the suspension. It is a way to temporarily ease the financing constraints for these countries and free up scarce resources to mitigate the human and economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

4. Calls for a new Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation of $650 billion – In April 2021, the International Monetary and Finance Committee (IMFC) called on the IMF to make a comprehensive proposal on a new SDR general allocation of US$650 billion to help meet the long-term global need to supplement reserves, while enhancing transparency and accountability in the reporting and the use of SDRs. The IMFC called on the IMF to work with its members to continue exploring ways for voluntary post-allocation channeling of SDRs to support members’ recovery efforts.

5. Enhancing liquidity– The IMF has approved the establishment of a Short-term Liquidity Line (SLL) to further strengthen the global financial safety net. The facility is a revolving and renewable backstop for member countries with very strong policies and fundamentals in need of short-term moderate balance of payments support.

6. Adjusting existing lending arrangements– The IMF is augmenting existing lending programs to accommodate urgent new needs arising from the coronavirus, thereby enabling existing resources to be channeled to the necessary spending on medical supplies and equipment and for containment of the outbreak.

7. Policy advice – As the IMF monitors economic developments and the impact of the pandemic at the global, regional, and country levels, it recommends policies needed to overcome the crisis, protect the most vulnerable and set the stage for economic recovery.

8. Capacity Development– In response to the pandemic, the IMF is providing real-time policy advice and capacity development to over 160 countries to address urgent issues such as cash management, financial supervision, cyber security and economic governance. In particular, the Fund has been working with tax administrations and budget offices in many countries to help them restore operations and strengthen support to businesses and individuals, without compromising safeguards and accountability. IMF technical experts are also working with countries to revise and update their debt management strategies.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 11.20 (after 1960)

1962 – Cuban Missile Crisis ends: In response to the Soviet Union agreeing to remove its missiles from Cuba, U.S. President John F. Kennedy ends the quarantine of the Caribbean nation. 1968 – A total of 78 miners are killed in an explosion at the Consolidated Coal Company's No. 9 mine in Farmington, West Virginia in the Farmington Mine disaster. 1969 – Vietnam War: The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) publishes explicit photographs of dead villagers from the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam. 1969 – Occupation of Alcatraz: Native American activists seize control of Alcatraz Island until being ousted by the U.S. Government on June 11, 1971. 1974 – The United States Department of Justice files its final anti-trust suit against AT&T Corporation. This suit later leads to the breakup of AT&T and its Bell System. 1974 – The first fatal crash of a Boeing 747 occurs when Lufthansa Flight 540 crashes while attempting to takeoff from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, killing 59 out of the 157 people on board. 1977 – Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel, when he meets Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and speaks before the Knesset in Jerusalem, seeking a permanent peace settlement. 1979 – Grand Mosque seizure: About 200 Sunni Muslims revolt in Saudi Arabia at the site of the Kaaba in Mecca during the pilgrimage and take about 6000 hostages. The Saudi government receives help from Pakistani special forces to put down the uprising. 1980 – Lake Peigneur in Louisiana drains into an underlying salt deposit. A misplaced Texaco oil probe had been drilled into the Diamond Crystal Salt Mine, causing water to flow down into the mine, eroding the edges of the hole. 1985 – Microsoft Windows 1.0, the first graphical personal computer operating environment developed by Microsoft, is released. 1989 – Velvet Revolution: The number of protesters assembled in Prague, Czechoslovakia, swells from 200,000 the day before to an estimated half-million. 1990 – Andrei Chikatilo, one of the Soviet Union's most prolific serial killers, is arrested; he eventually confesses to 56 killings. 1991 – An Azerbaijani MI-8 helicopter carrying 19 peacekeeping mission team with officials and journalists from Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan is shot down by Armenian military forces in Khojavend District of Azerbaijan. 1992 – In England, a fire breaks out in Windsor Castle, badly damaging the castle and causing over £50 million worth of damage. 1993 – Savings and loan crisis: The United States Senate Ethics Committee issues a stern censure of California senator Alan Cranston for his "dealings" with savings-and-loan executive Charles Keating. 1993 – Macedonia's deadliest aviation disaster occurs when Avioimpex Flight 110, a Yakovlev Yak-42, crashes near Ohrid, killing all 116 people on board. 1994 – The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign the Lusaka Protocol in Zambia, ending 19 years of civil war. (Localized fighting resumes the next year.) 1996 – A fire breaks out in an office building in Hong Kong, killing 41 people and injuring 81. 1998 – A court in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan declares accused terrorist Osama bin Laden "a man without a sin" in regard to the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. 1998 – The first space station module component, Zarya, for the International Space Station is launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 2003 – After the November 15 bombings, a second day of the 2003 Istanbul bombings occurs in Istanbul, Turkey, destroying the Turkish head office of HSBC Bank AS and the British consulate. 2015 – Following a hostage siege, at least 19 people are killed in Bamako, Mali. 2022 – The 2022 FIFA World Cup begins in Qatar. This is the first time the tournament was held in the Middle East.

[bountyofbeads]

Coronavirus Live Updates: South Korean Cases Spike, and Fear Builds https://nyti.ms/38NmL2w

Coronavirus Live Updates: South Korean Cases Spike, and Fear Builds

A major city is locked down and 28 countries outside of China have reported a total of 1,500 cases.

RIGHT NOW

Iran reports a sixth death, and Israel is barring travelers from South Korea.

Here’s what you need to know:

READ UPDATES IN CHINESE: 新冠病毒疫情最新消息汇总

THE COUNT: 28 COUNTRIES AND A SPIKE IN SOUTH KOREA.

South Korea reported 229 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, doubling its total in a single day and adding to concerns that another Asian country is losing control of the spread and that the window to avert a pandemic was closing.

As of Saturday, the virus had spread to 28 countries. Some 1,500 cases have been confirmed outside China; multiple infections in the United States, Italy, Iran and the United Arab Emirates; and one in Egypt, the first to be confirmed on the African continent. The highest death toll outside of China is in Iran, with six as of Saturday.

Panic is spreading in Israel, where a woman, who was aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan tested positive after returning home, health officials said.

Many African countries are bracing for the disease. The World Health Organization has identified 13 as priorities because of their direct links to China or their high volume of travel to it.

SOUTH KOREA’S FOURTH-LARGEST CITY IS ON LOCKDOWN.

South Korea added 229 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, driving its total to 433. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun called the situation “grave.”

“We will deal sternly with any acts that interfere with the government’s quarantine efforts and add to anxiety among the people,” Mr. Chung said in a nationally televised statement. He urged citizens not to hoard facial masks or other hygiene products.

More than half of the cases are among members of a secretive religious sect, the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, and their relatives or contacts. Between Daegu, the country’s fourth largest city, and a nearby province where the sect’s members often do volunteer work, 352 people have tested positive.

More than 1,250 members of the sect have reported potential symptoms, and officials are still trying to locate 700 members so they can be screened.

The neighborhood around the sect’s church in Daegu has turned into a ghost town. Banks, coffee shops, restaurants and convenience stores have all shut down.

Across the city of 2.4 million, department stores, shopping alleys and outdoor marketplaces are drained of shoppers.

The only places more crowded than usual are government-run health centers, where citizens lined up to find out whether they were infected.

In Busan, South Korea’s second largest city, public libraries, a horse racetrack and facilities for senior citizens closed when the city reported its first coronavirus case on Friday.

Many churches have shuttered, instead offering prayer services online. Others stayed open, but skipped hymns or “Amens” to limit congregants’ exposure.

The national news agency Yonhap reported people emptying shelves of rice, instant noodle, eggs and other essential food items in some supermarkets in Chuncheon and Ulsan, as both cities reported their first cases on Saturday.

Samsung, the world’s smartphone maker, shut down a factory about an hour north of Cheongdo after a worker tested positive. The factory is expected to resume operations on Monday morning, Samsung said. But the floor of the factory where the patient has worked will be closed until Tuesday morning, it said.

PRESIDENT TRUMP WAS FURIOUS OVER THE REPATRIATION OF INFECTED AMERICANS.

The news that 14 American citizens from the Diamond Princess who had tested positive for the coronavirus were being flown to the United States this week surprised and infuriated President Trump, two senior American officials said.

The Washington Post first reported Mr. Trump’s anger on Friday. The president is a self-declared “germophobe.”

Mr. Trump conveyed his anger to Alex M. Azar II, the health and human services secretary overseeing the White House interagency task force on the coronavirus, and other top officials. The task force’s top State Department official is Stephen E. Biegun, the deputy secretary of state.

One official said that Mr. Trump views keeping infected people from entering the country as critical to keeping the country safe and that the president wants to be seen as managing a proper response.

The decision to fly back the infected passengers was made over the objections of officials at the Centers for Disease Control.

On Monday, after two planes carrying more than 300 evacuated passengers had landed at military bases in Texas and California, William Walters, a top medical official at the State Department, told reporters that the decision to keep the 14 infected Americans in the group had been made by the State Department in consultation with Robert Kadlec, an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Walters said that the evacuation had already begun when Japanese officials informed their American counterparts of the laboratory test results. Dr. Walters said that he had spoken with Dr. Kadlec to go over the options after learning of the test results.

Since the passengers returned, Japanese officials have informed American officials that several more of them had also tested positive for coronavirus.

On Friday, American officials said at least 34 people inside the United States have the virus — 18 of them from the Diamond Princess. All of the 34 cases have been linked to overseas travel. There has been no sign yet of the virus spreading among communities in the United States.

[ U.S. MOBILIZATION: Local health departments around the country are scrambling to monitor the thousands of people returning from travel in China and elsewhere. READ BELOW]

THE W.H.O. HEADS TO WUHAN, AND SAYS IT FEARS FOR AFRICA.

A team of experts from the World Health Organization were traveling on Saturday to the Chinese city of Wuhan, the center of the coronavirus epidemic, the agency’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said.

Health professionals from the U.N. agency have worked on the outbreak in three Chinese provinces — Beijing, Sichuan and Guangdong — but had not yet been to the city at its heart.

Dr. Tedros confirmed the trip during an address on Saturday morning to African officials from Geneva, where he spoke of the virus’s increasing global spread and urged them to prepare for possible cases on their continent.

“We have to take advantage of the window of opportunity we have, to attack the virus outbreak with a sense of urgency,” Dr. Tedros told the leaders, who had gathered for an emergency meeting on the response to the coronavirus in the continent.

With only one confirmed case on the continent, Africa has so far been mostly spared, but health officials have warned that the spread could be deadly in countries with already-strained health systems. The W.H.O. has provided online training on the coronavirus to 11,000 African health workers.

China and Africa have become intertwined in the last two decades as China has expanded its political, economic, and military ties to Africa, funding large infrastructure projects and pledging tens of billions of dollars in investments and loans.

Now, Africa has large numbers of Chinese workers and more than 81,000 Africans were studying in mainland China in 2018. About 4,600 African citizens and students were living in Wuhan.

While some African countries, including Morocco, Mauritius and Egypt, have evacuated their citizens from China, Kenya has not. On Friday, the Kenyan government explained its rationale on Twitter, saying “the safest place for the students to be is Wuhan.”

[CORONAVIRUS IN AFRICA: Experts worry that the steady traffic between China and Africa could spread the epidemic and overrun the continent’s already-strained health systems

ISRAEL BARS SOUTH KOREAN TOURISTS.

Nine South Korean tourists who spent a week visiting some of Israel’s most popular religious sites have tested positive for the coronavirus after returning home. Within hours, Israel began closing the country to South Korean travelers altogether.

Korean passengers flying on a Korean Air flight scheduled to land at Ben Gurion Airport at 7:30 p.m. Saturday would be barred entry into the country, Ynet reported late Saturday afternoon. Kan radio said that, on Sunday, the government would discuss whether to allow the other South-Korea-to-Tel Aviv flights to continue.

Israel’s health ministry ordered the immediate suspension of all tours by South Korean tourists who are currently in Israel, according to Kan radio. Health officials were working with the tourism ministry and travel agencies to book flights back to South Korea for the 1,700 South Korea tourists in Israel.

Israel suspended all flights from China on Jan. 30 in response to the outbreak of coronavirus.

The nine South Korean tourists were among a Roman Catholic tour group of 77 people, Haaretz reported. The health ministry said the pilgrims visited Israel from Feb. 8 to Feb. 15, touring Christian sites and other attractions in Netanya, Caesaria, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, the Dead Sea, Beersheva, Hebron and Jerusalem.

Among the often-crowded sites the group visited were the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

The health ministry said it was conducting an epidemiological investigation to identify anyone who came in contact with the group.

Twenty Israel Nature and Parks Authority employees and two Dead Sea hotel housekeeping employees who were in contact with the South Korea tourists have already been placed in quarantine, according to local reports.

RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION BLAMES U.S. FOR CORONAVIRUS.

State Department officials say that thousands of Russia-linked social media accounts are spreading disinformation about the coronavirus, including a conspiracy theory that the United States is behind the Covid-19 outbreak.

American monitors identified the campaign in mid-January. Agence-France Presse first reported on the assessment on Saturday.

“Russia’s intent is to sow discord and undermine U.S. institutions and alliances from within, including through covert and coercive malign influence campaigns,” said Philip Reeker, the acting assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia.

“By spreading disinformation about coronavirus, Russian malign actors are once again choosing to threaten public safety by distracting from the global health response.”

The effort was described as being carried out by several thousand Russia-linked accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, which post similar messages at similar times in English, Spanish, French, German and Italian.

Fringe theories of uncertain origin have accused China of engineering the virus, including suggesting that it is an escaped bioweapon.

Misinformation about the virus — whether shared purposefully or unwittingly — is so rife that the World Health Organization has called it an “infodemic.” The W.H.O. has been working with big tech companies to try to quell the flood of rumors and falsehoods.

IRAN’S DEATH TOLL FROM THE VIRUS REACHES SIX, THE HIGHEST OUTSIDE CHINA.

Iran, which insisted as recently as Tuesday that it had no coronavirus cases, confirmed 28 cases and six deaths on Saturday, according to Iranian state media, making it the country with the highest death toll outside of China, where the number climbed to 2,345 on Saturday.

On Saturday, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization’s director, said the organization was “especially concerned about the increase in cases in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Iran was the first country in the Middle East to declare deaths related to the virus. The head of public relations at the country’s health ministry, Kianush Jahanpur, wrote in a tweet that most of the infections came from Qom, 80 miles south of the capital, Tehran. Officials also confirmed cases in Tehran, and in the northern city of Rasht.

The number of deaths suggest the virus is being transmitted far more widely than Iranian officials have acknowledged. Infectious health experts note that, if, as Chinese doctors have reported, the virus kills about 2 percent of known victims, multiplying the number of deaths by 50 offers a rough case estimate. On that logic, Iran could have 300 cases.

Already, cases of travelers from Iran testing positive for the virus have turned up in Canada and Lebanon, and on Saturday, the United Arab Emirates said two Iranian travelers had the virus, raising that country’s total cases to 13.

State media in Iran reported that universities and institutions of higher education were closed for a week in 10 provinces and schools were closed for three days in Tehran because of the virus. Seminaries in Qom were also closed.

Concerts, movies and other cultural events were canceled across the country for a week, state media said. And spectators were barred from soccer games countrywide.

Kuwait Airways announced Saturday that it would evacuate more than 700 Kuwaiti nationals from Mashhad, Iran.

As Iran holds parliamentary elections this weekend, many voters in Qom lined up in front of voting stations wearing masks, according to videos from Iranian news agencies.

Conflicting news reports emerged on Saturday about the mayor of a district of Tehran, who was said to have been hospitalized with coronavirus symptoms on Friday. But the semiofficial news agency Fars later denied that the mayor, Morteza Rahmanzadeh, had been hospitalized, saying he was in good health.

[ FEARS OF A PANDEMIC RISE: Health officials warn that the number of cases outside of China may be greater than previously acknowledged. READ BELOW]

THE C.D.C. LIFTS RESTRICTIONS ON WESTERDAM CRUISE SHIP PASSENGERS.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised American passengers of the Westerdam cruise ship that they do not need to self-quarantine and are no longer subject to travel restrictions after their lives were upended when a fellow passenger was found to have the coronavirus.

No other infections have been found among passengers on the Westerdam, a C.D.C. spokesman said on Saturday, adding that the organization had sent an advisory to state and local health departments this past week.

An American woman, 83, who had disembarked from the Westerdam in Cambodia along with more than 2,000 other passengers and crew members, had tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving at the airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on a subsequent layover, Malaysian officials said on Feb. 15. Only a small number of passengers had been tested before they were allowed to disembark.

The American passenger’s diagnosis, which Malaysian officials said was confirmed in a second test, had raised fears that another vector of transmission was going global. Cambodia has called the Malaysian diagnosis flawed.

That no other Westerdam passengers have become ill is not proof in itself that the American woman’s diagnosis was flawed, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

But Dr. Schaffner said the C.D.C. has been “very meticulous about implementing a containment policy in the U.S. and has been assiduous about finding and monitoring people who’ve had contact or previous exposure.”

On Saturday, the Malaysian health director general, Noor Hisham Abdullah, said that the American passenger was now clear of the coronavirus and was being monitored in the hospital with a “slight cough,” after an antiretroviral treatment.

People who have recovered from the infection will test negative as their bodies clear the virus.

Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Sen, who had personally welcomed the ship’s passengers after they had been turned away from several other ports, called Malaysia’s diagnosis into question again on Saturday. The woman never had coronavirus at all, he said.

Mr. Hun Sen is a close ally of China and his claims have cast doubts on the seriousness of the coronavirus outbreak.

JAPAN ADMITS RELEASING SOME UNTESTED CRUISE SHIP PASSENGERS BY MISTAKE.

Just days after releasing nearly 1,000 passengers from the cruise ship quarantined for two weeks in the port of Yokohama that has been a coronavirus hot spot, Japan’s health minister admitted that 23 passengers had been mistakenly cleared to leave without taking a valid recent test.

In a news briefing on Saturday night, the health minister, Katsunobu Kato, apologized for the error that allowed the passengers, who had not been tested since before the ship went into lockdown on Feb. 5, to leave the Diamond Princess.

The Japanese Health Ministry said it had tested them and checked for symptoms, and certified that they posed “no risk of infection.”

Mr. Kato said that all 23 mistakenly cleared passengers had boarded some form of public transportation after disembarking. He said none of them had reported any symptoms so far and 20 had already agreed to be retested, with three negative tests so far.

Although several governments that evacuated citizens from the ship — including those in the United States, Australia, Hong Kong and South Korea — confined them for an additional 14 days at home, Japan said that passengers who had tested negative for coronavirus and showed no symptoms could leave starting this week.

On the subject of the passengers released untested, Mr. Kato said that public health officers who had been conducting the tests missed the 23 passengers as they went door to door.

“While they made their multiple rounds to take samples, some passengers left their rooms to go outside and do exercise or something,” he said, “so they were unavailable.”

A total of 634 people tested positive on board the cruise ship, and two passengers infected with the coronavirus have died.

_____

Reporting and research were contributed by Hannah Beech, Liz Alderman, Vivian Wang, Choe Sang-Hun, Elian Peltier, Donald G. McNeil Jr., Farnaz Fassihi, Amy Harmon, Steven Lee Myers, Elaine Yu, Marc Santora, Matt Philips, Niraj Chokshi, Amie Tsang, Keith Bradsher, Amber Wang, Yiwei Wang, Ed Wong, David Halbfinger and Derrick Bryson Taylor.

*********

‘All Hands on Deck’: Health Workers Race to Track Thousands of Americans Amid Coronavirus

Local health departments around the United States are scrambling to monitor thousands of people returning from travel in China and elsewhere. Among the tasks: daily calls, emails, texts.

By Amy Harmon and Farah Stockman | Published Feb. 22, 2020 Updated 11:13 a.m. ET | New York Times | Posted February 22, 2020 |

After a long journey at sea on the Westerdam cruise ship, which was denied entry at ports across Asia over fears of the coronavirus, Holley Rauen finally returned home to Florida on Wednesday night. Moments later, she discovered that she had joined a cast of thousands who are being meticulously tracked by local health officials across the United States.

As Ms. Rauen’s plane from overseas touched down, one message was already waiting on her phone, from a nurse at the local public health department in her Florida county. Should she develop a fever or cough over the next 14 days, she should report it immediately, the nurse explained when Ms. Rauen called back.

“I was so impressed,” said Ms. Rauen, who is herself a retired public health nurse from the same health department in Lee County. “We are really truly in uncharted waters.”

Preventing the spread of infectious disease is the essence of public health work, but the scale of efforts by state and local health departments across the country to contain the virus known as COVID-19, experts said, has rarely been seen. Since early February, thousands of people returning to the United States from mainland China, the center of the outbreak, have been asked to isolate themselves at home for 14 days.

Local health officials check in daily by email, phone or text. They arrange tests for people who come down with symptoms, and in some cases, groceries and isolated housing. There is no centralized tally in the United States of people being monitored or asked to remain in isolation, and they are scattered across the nation’s nearly 3,000 local health jurisdictions.

People arriving from mainland China are added each day, while those who have completed 14-day “self-quarantine” periods are released from oversight. In California alone, the department of public health has been monitoring more than 6,700 returning travelers from China, while health officials in Washington State have tracked about 800, and officials in Illinois more than 200.

The nationwide mobilization is taking a financial toll, health officials say. The cost to local health departments is unknown, but some experts say it has reached into the tens of millions. Even as the first of 34 confirmed coronavirus patients in the United States have recovered in recent days, health officials say they are preparing for what some fear could still be a much wider outbreak. Worldwide, the virus, which is known to be highly contagious, has infected 75,000 people and killed more than 2,000.

“All hands on deck are being pulled into this,’’ said Dr. Marcus Plescia, the chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, a nonprofit organization that represents public health agencies across the country. “If it really blows up, at some point, it could overwhelm state and local health departments.”

So far, officials say, the containment effort in this country has been largely orderly. The only known transmission of the virus in the United States has involved people in the same household. But no matter how effective health workers are in monitoring their charges, “there will always be some leakage,’’ said Dr. John Wiesman, the Secretary of Health in Washington State.

In Washington, where the first coronavirus patient in the United States was confirmed on Jan. 21, health officials tracked down and monitored 69 individuals with whom the man had come in contact, including work colleagues, health workers and other patients present in a clinic he visited when he first felt sick. Still, there have been issues. One person the man had been in contact with and who had developed symptoms of illness flew on a plane to Wisconsin during the 14-day period when she was supposed to be isolated at home.

“There is no way, with something this large, that you can make it seal-proof,’’ said Dr. Wiesman, who has started twice-weekly conference calls with the chief health officers in every state and territory to share tips and seek advice on how to manage the shifting challenges of the coronavirus response. While enforcing total compliance with isolation orders may not be possible, Dr. Wiesman said, “We have to try for 80 to 85 percent, and hopefully that will work.’’

Federal authorities are in charge of setting guidelines to manage the danger, such as deciding how much risk a returning traveler poses and who should be tested for the coronavirus. But the day-to-day work putting those policies in place and tracking thousands of people falls to the vast, decentralized network of local health departments across the country. Travelers’ data, culled from federal customs officials, is passed on to state health agencies, who farm out lists of people returning from China to local health departments.

In the Chicago area, public health officials are using an electronic monitoring system originally developed to track the measles to monitor more than 200 travelers. Each day, they receive a link asking their temperature and symptoms.

The costs associated with containing the virus have reached more than $150,000 a week for the Chicago public health department alone, according to its commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady. Among the costs: $17,000 for a quarantine facility at an undisclosed location for people who can’t isolate themselves at home. So far, fewer than five people have used it, she said.

“If you are quarantining them under a legal order, you have to think about food, their medications, their communication needs and their mental health,” she said.

Some jurisdictions have negotiated with hotels to host people who may harbor the virus. Washington State has RV’s.

Ruth Jones, public health commissioner in Quincy, Mass., a town of about 100,000 people south of Boston, says that her department has been receiving lists of between three and 10 people each day who are returning from China and are being asked to stay isolated from other people. Quincy’s two public health nurses and two translators have been working long hours to call them and make sure they understand how to monitor and report any symptoms.

“It’s overtime for our nurses,’’ Ms. Jones said. “It’s been extremely busy,”

Local officials in places that have had confirmed cases have been under particular strain. In Madison and Dane County, Wis., a local health staff of 160 has been forced to rearrange its operation to focus on monitoring anyone who may have been exposed to a resident who tested positive for the virus after falling ill and remains in self-isolation.

“We’re in this new normal, but it’s not normal,” said Janel Heinrich, the county’s director of public health.

Along with monitoring individuals who are seen as at risk of having been exposed to the virus, state and local health officials have been scrambling to prepare for worst case scenarios in the months ahead. State officials in Washington said they will hold a webinar next week to brief school superintendents on best practices for cleaning and planning for home schooling should schools need to shut down.

“People are doing contingency planning,’’ said Julie Sullivan-Springhetti, spokeswoman for the Multnomah County Health Department in Oregon, which has devoted resources to preparing a regional hospital system for a potential case. “Just like we plan for the Cascadia earthquake, which may or may not happen in our lifetime.”

As for the returning passengers from the Westerdam, the cruise ship, passengers at first thought they had no reason to worry about the coronavirus because no one on the ship had traveled through mainland China during the outbreak. But after passengers began leaving the ship to head home, an 83-year-old woman was reported to have tested positive on a layover in Malaysia, creating confusion and chaos.

Erin Carney, 70, a retired nurse and midwife from Mendocino County, Calif., flew out on the same flight as the woman who was reported to have tested positive, though questions have been raised about that finding and the C.D.C. has since said that other passengers do not need to isolate themselves.

Given the initial reports of a positive test, Ms. Carney called hospitals to figure out what she and her partner should do.

“The person that we spoke to read the C.D.C. guidelines and thought that everything seemed fine and we didn’t have to self-quarantine,” Ms. Carney said. “They said, ‘If you have symptoms, go see your doctor.’”

But then a nurse from the Mendocino County Health and Human Services Department called Ms. Carney. She recommended that they quarantine themselves at home, and offered to supply groceries.

“We had kind of talked about doing that anyway,” Ms. Carney said. “They’ve called every day since.”

_____

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs contributed reporting.

*********

With 4 Deaths in Iran and More Cases on 3 Continents, Fears of Coronavirus Pandemic Rise

Health officials called the surge in reported infections “very worrisome,” as cases soared in South Korea. Europe and North America reported a big uptick in infections.

By Vivian Wang, Donald G. McNeil Jr., Farnaz Fassihi and Steven Lee Myers| Published Feb. 21, 2020 Updated Feb. 22, 2020, 12:52 a.m. ET | New York Times |

HONG KONG — An alarming surge of new coronavirus cases outside China, with fears of a major outbreak in Iran, is threatening to transform the contagion into a global pandemic, as countries around the Middle East scrambled to close their borders and continents so far largely spared reported big upticks in the illness.

In Iran, which had insisted as recently as Tuesday that it had no cases, the virus may now have reached most major cities, including Tehran, and has killed at least four people, according to health officials. Already, cases of travelers from Iran testing positive for the virus have turned up in Canada and Lebanon.

The number of cases also soared in South Korea, with the sudden spread tied to a secretive church where hundreds of congregants attended services with numerous people infected with the virus.

The United States now has 34 cases, with more expected, and Italy experienced a spike from three cases to 17 and ordered mandatory quarantine measures.

“The cases that we see in the rest of the world, although the numbers are small, but not linked to Wuhan or China, it’s very worrisome,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said Friday at a news conference at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva. “These dots are actually very concerning.”

As uneasiness about the breadth and duration of the outbreak grew, stocks fell for the second straight day on Friday amid worries the virus would drag down global demand and hurt the world economy.

The disturbing reports out of Tehran suggested the virus was being transmitted far more widely there than officials had previously acknowledged. While the country’s health officials confirmed only 18 cases by Friday, the number of deaths indicates the total is likely to be far higher.

Four reported deaths probably mean at least 200 cases, said Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. If the virus kills about 2 percent of known victims, as Chinese doctors have reported, then the number of deaths can be multiplied by 50 to get a rough case estimate, he explained.

“People don’t die right away of this virus — it usually takes two or three weeks after cases start to spread for the first death,” Mr. Osterholm said. “So there may be a lot more cases, and a lot more deaths on the way. And we didn’t even know there was a problem in Iran before yesterday.”

Minou Mohrez, who is on the infectious disease committee of the Iranian Health Ministry, told the official IRNA news agency on Friday that it was clear the virus was spreading across Iran’s cities.

“A coronavirus epidemic has started in the country,” she said. “It’s possible that it exists in all cities in Iran.”

A spokesman for the Health Ministry, Kianush Jahanpur, said on Friday there were more than 735 people hospitalized with flulike symptoms who were being tested for the virus.

Kuwait’s civil aviation authority on Friday stopped all flights to and from Iran, which shares a long border with both Afghanistan and Iraq, where health officials have a limited capacity to stop the spread of the virus should it find its way to those countries.

Dr. Sylvie Briand, the director of infectious hazards management for the W.H.O., said the rapid increase in cases in Iran was disquieting.

“We are wondering what the extent of the outbreak in Iran is,” she told reporters on Friday. “We are wondering about the potential for more cases to be exported in the coming days. We want all countries to be aware of this and to put in place detailed measures to pick up these cases as early as possible.”

As concern grew that Iran was emerging as an important new vector of transmission, the country where the coronavirus originated was also responding to significant negative developments.

Officials in China, already straining to deal with an outbreak that has infected more than 76,000 people and resulted in 2,300 deaths, announced a new front in its war on the virus on Friday as officials reported clusters of infections in at least four prisons in three provinces.

The outbreaks, affecting at least 512 prisoners and guards, raised the specter of the disease spreading through the country’s extensive prison system.

More than 200 of the infections occurred in one prison in the city of Jining, 450 miles east of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province and the center of the outbreak; officials there suggested that the cluster may have been tied to a prison guard.

In South Korea, the total number of cases surpassed 340 on Saturday morning, and the authorities were racing to trace all the people who had come in contact with members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus. Members of that church, along with their relatives and others who got the virus from them, account for more than half of the country’s confirmed infections.

More than 1,250 other church members have reported potential symptoms, health officials said, raising the possibility that the nation’s caseload could skyrocket.

As of Saturday, more than 700 members of Shincheonji, which mainstream South Korean churches consider a cult, still could not be reached, according to health officials, who were hoping to screen them for signs of infection.

In response, the government is shutting thousands of day-care facilities and community centers, even banning the outdoor political rallies that are a feature of life in downtown Seoul.

All four virus-related deaths in Iran occurred in Qom, a holy city popular with Shiite pilgrims across the Middle East.

People have already tested positive in Qom, Tehran and Gilan, near the Caspian Sea, said Mr. Jahanpur, the Health Ministry spokesman.

“Most of these people were residents of Qom or they had traveled to Qom in the past days or weeks,” he said.

In Qom, schools and religious seminaries were shut down on Thursday as officials urged people to avoid gathering in large groups. But on Friday, as Iranians went to vote in parliamentary elections, polling stations were open and the communal pools of ink for people to dip their fingers proving they voted were in wide use.

With rumors spreading across the country on instant messaging services like Telegram, a confused and increasingly worried public watched as Tehran’s largest metro station was suddenly closed. Workers wearing protective gear descended on the station, apparently responding to reports of sick commuters. It remained closed Friday night.

There was growing skepticism over the government’s handling of the outbreak. Mahmoud Sadeghi, an outspoken member of Parliament from Tehran, accused the government of “covering up the spread of an epidemic.”

While the source of the outbreak in Iran could not be pinned down, officials speculated that it began in the large population of Chinese workers in the country.

Critics accused the government of playing down the disease, and failing to take strict precautions to prevent its arrival in the country, in order to avoid provoking China, a key trading partner and a lifeline for Iran’s economy in the face of U.S. sanctions.

The sanctions against Iran could hamper its ability to contain the spread of the virus and diminish the country’s ability to mobilize international support.

“Iran does have problems accessing specialized medication for rare and special diseases because of sanctions — either private companies or banks refuse to work with Iran in fear of U.S. secondary sanctions,” said Tara Sepehri Far, an Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch.

The new global clusters showed, again, the difficulty in judging the true number of infections, amid concerns about underreporting and rapidly shifting definitions of confirmed cases.

Further bolstering the idea that the virus is spreading widely, an epidemiological modeling team from Imperial College in London estimated Friday that two-thirds of the people infected with coronavirus who left mainland China before restrictions were imposed had traveled throughout the world without being detected.

The team, one of several modeling groups regularly consulted by the W.H.O., calculated how many cases were detected in different countries and how many should have been detected based on flights that left Wuhan just before most air travel out of China ended.

Detection failures “potentially resulted in multiple chains of as-yet-undetected human-to-human transmission,” the modeling team’s study concluded.

The virus is spreading even in places that might be expected to have the closest monitoring and prevention. In Beijing, a spike in cases at two hospitals raised fears that the epidemic could be growing in a city so far largely exempt from extensive infections.

The infections — and in some cases, deaths — of medical workers have become a potent symbol of the epidemic’s toll for many Chinese. On Thursday, another doctor in Wuhan died. The doctor, Peng Yinhua, 29, had postponed his wedding to continue treating patients, according to local news reports.

Earlier this week, a high-profile doctor, Liu Zhiming, the director of the Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan, died.

The almost random nature of new reports and new deaths is an indication the virus is moving much faster than countries are reporting to the W.H.O., Dr. Osterholm said.

“How many of these clusters and travel cases and prison outbreaks do we have to see before we realize that we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg?” he said. “Testing is just getting set up around the world. There’s barely any in Africa right now. Even in the U.S., we’re testing travel cases — but we’re not testing in any meaningful way that will pick up cases that we didn’t suspect were there.”

_____

Vivian Wang reported from Hong Kong, Donald G. McNeil Jr. and Farnaz Fassihi from New York, and Steven Lee Myers from Beijing. Marc Santora contributed reporting from London and Choe Sang-Hun from Seoul, South Korea.

*********

[momboltd]

First digital Sacco in Kenya

Technology has taken the financial sector by storm, Saccos not being left behind. Watch and listen to how Mombo Sacco has revolutionised the financial sector.

[wellwealldeservetodie]

Problem Searching For A Great Job? Look No More!

If you have been disappointed and having a challenging time obtaining a job, there are numerous others going via the very same point. The complying with the post will share work recommendations that might assist transform your existing work circumstance. Also if the job you're requesting is a laid-back one, reveal the meeting and company regard by clothing remarkably and skilfully. Good clothing reveals self-confidence and satisfaction. They require not to be pricey, merely tidy and well often tended.

Make on your own a fantastic hire by maintaining tabs on how points are altering. Look right into taking courses, going to profession fairs and going to workshops. Make a type that will help you when you load out applications. You do not desire to be stuck confessing that you do not understand the days and get in touch with information that they must have on the job application to examine your background. It is your best rate of interest to maintain your partnerships at the job ngo jobs in kenya 2018 on an expert degree. Relationships at a job can get in the means of the job at hand.

Have A Profession?

Your job title might be limiting your job search. Discover what various other names your chosen work go by. When you are most likely to be spoken with for a job, you require to clothe expertly. Make sure that you're using expert clothes and you often tend to little information like your nails and shoes. The look is the impression you will offer, so ensure it is a great one. When you compose a return to, attempt to include a social network's website to it. Social media site is my jobs in kenya 2019 utilized by a variety of firms, and when you can do that, you can place on your own as somebody that might have the ability to take care of that for them, also if it's  in a publishing ability.

When addressing your phone, be as special as you can. Offer your name plainly, together with a welcoming suitable to the moment of the day. This aids to provide you an extra specialist appearance when a company does ask for a meeting. When you are Jobs In Tanzania starting a brand-new job, make certain to connect efficiently with your manager. Without interaction, you can develop clumsiness with your employer.

Item Supervisor

You will not be making a great deal of loan contrasted to various other occupations, yet this job can be a great deal of enjoyable if you are doing it for the best firm. Your job would  be to head to various hotels and seeing to it that all the items are operating properly. Online layouts can be practical if you are having a problem ending up a return to. There are great deals of part time jobs in kenya 2019 complimentary choices for you to utilize. Highlight the various characteristics that you give the table on your return to. You might require to take a job in one more area if you need revenue while you do your job search.

Anything that gives earnings, from waitressing to addressing phones, will be helpful to you throughout this time around. There are many individuals that run out job today, and not by their option. Despite the fact that points might not be going the means you prepared, it is essential to be confident still. Come to be educated on work and utilize this write-up's ideas to get a job. That is a pity, particularly thinking about that there are desire deportee tasks if you chose to relocate. Right here are the leading 5 tasks that you might be doing right  as a deportee in one more nation.

international jobs africa

[briefnewschannel]

China loans to Kenya fall for first time in 20 years

China loans to Kenya fall for first time in 20 years

Economy China loans to Kenya fall for first time in 20 years Monday October 24 2022 Workers on site during the construction of the Lamu Port by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC). FILE PHOTO | NMG Chinese loans to Kenya have dropped for the first time in 15 years as Beijing adopts more cautious lending in Africa where some nations have reached the limit of their borrowing…

[careerkenyan]

KUTRRH Project Manager (Infrastructure Development) Job

KUTRRH Project Manager (Infrastructure Development) Job Project Manager – Infrastructure Development Job, Latest Job Vacancies In Kenya, REF – V/FT/98/2022 Position Description The Project Manager shall be responsible for leading the team in the construction projects involving the construction of the infrastructure as well as the installation of specialized equipment; Oversee the development of KUTRRH projects and implementation and all other aspects of the project to ensure completion on time and within budget and scope. Job Responsibilities - Develop a detailed project plan to monitor and track progress of the project. - Obtain necessary permits, approvals, and other regulatory prerequisites to the project. - Ensure compliance with legal requirements, building and safety codes, and other regulations. - Collaborate with architects, engineers, and other construction specialists to ensure that the project adheres to the specifications and set standards. - Plan for the resources needed to complete the project and coordinate the utilization of the said resources. - Convene, Coordinate and conduct site meetings. - Create and maintain comprehensive project documentation. - Provide direction over contractors and subcontractors. - Manage construction schedule and activities. - Oversee the construction phase of the project including chairing of site meetings and inspections and ensuring quality control policies and measure in place are adhered to. - Issue progress updates as needed regarding costs and timelines. - Manage changes to the project scope, project schedule and project costs using appropriate verification techniques and issue progress updates as needed regarding costs and timelines. - Measure project performance using appropriate tools and techniques. - Preparing, maintaining and monitoring Project Master Schedule. - Ensure that all construction management documents necessary in the project including Architects Instructions, RFI Responses and Payment Certificates are well documented and issued in a timely manner. Minimum Qualifications - Bachelor’s degree in Project management or related and relevant field of study. - Master’s degree in a relevant and related field. - At least 8 years relevant working experience, 3 of which should have been in a supervisory position. - Excellent client-facing and internal communication skills - Excellent written and verbal communication skills - Solid organizational skills including attention to detail and multitasking skills - Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office Project Management Professional (PMP) / PRINCE II certification is a plus. Top Skills & Proficiencies - Planning and Analytical skills - Developing and Tracking Budgets - Meticulous eye for detail - Supervision - Project Management - Process Improvement  How to Apply If your background and competencies match the specifications of the above positions, please apply online via careers.kutrrh.go.ke OR send hard copies of your Application Letter, Curriculum Vitae, and Filled Application Form and Licence ONLY to the address below: The Chief Executive Officer Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral & Research Hospital P.O. Box 7674 – 00100 GPO Nairobi For all applications, please indicate the subject as follows: JOB APPLICATION – . Please note that you must attach the Application Letter, CV, Filled Application Form (https://www.kutrrh.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/KUTRRH_Job_Application_Form_July_2022.pdf), and Practicing Licence when you apply online via the portal. - The deadline for the receipt of all applications is 12th August 2022. - Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. All successful candidates must fulfil the requirements of Chapter Six of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, including; - Certificate of good conduct from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations - Clearance Certificate from the Higher Education Loans Board (for University graduates only) - Tax Compliance Certificate from the KRA - Clearance from Ethics & Anti-Corruption Commission - A report from an approved Credit Reference Bureau N.B: Looking For A New Job? Find Your Next Job With Us. Click Here To Register Your CV. It's Free. Cynthia Chebet2022-07-23T14:08:50+03:00 Read the full article

[iso27001inkochi]

Ensuring employee buy-in when implementing your ISO 14001-based EMS

ISO 14001 Certification in Thailand setting up and building up an EMS (Environmental Management System) that will at last get ensured to ISO 14001:2015 can be an overwhelming errand, and  it is very well may be made impressively simpler when you can rely upon the up-front investment and responsibility of the labor force included. Having the responsibility and support of an educated, learned, and spurred labor force can have a colossal effect not exclusively to the execution period of the EMS, yet in addition to the progressing results when the actual EMS is set up. Anyway, what tips and deceives can be utilized to guarantee this responsibility?

Winning the hearts and brains of the labor force

There are a few chances for the authoritative pioneers or undertaking administrator to help get the labor force installed during the foundation of an EMS, first and foremost pre-task, and afterward on a progressing premise as the cycles that help that EMS are being set up. Allow us to see what should be possible before the undertaking starts:

·         The article Six key advantages of ISO 14001 laid out the advantages that an EMS can bring to an association. Improvement of believability, cost investment funds, measure improvement, and decreased representative turnover can consolidate to improve possibilities for any association, and teaching workers to comprehend that these advantages are substantial can guarantee that representative responsibility is gotten. ISO 14001 Registration in Sri Lanka all things considered, workers with home loans and bills to pay – and once in a while investment opportunities and benefit sharing – are definitely the most effortless arrangement of partners to persuade with regards to ventures to improve execution.

·         Improve your very own range of abilities. Appropriation of ISO 14001:2015 standards and practices implies seeing new standards and acquiring new abilities. This new range of abilities can give workers an edge as far as self-awareness and surprisingly in capabilities, which thusly can improve advancement possibilities and employability possibilities when a representative is looking for a new position. Why not consider our free ISO 14001:2015 Foundations Course to begin your own special excursion towards self-awareness?

·         Join the club of autonomously affirmed achievement. The ISO association reported on its site (source: https://www.iso.org/iso-14001-ecological management.html) that in excess of 300,000 affirmations exist all through 171 nations at this current second. Neglecting to join this gathering when natural issues are filling in significance must imply that your association will fall behind others in a similar area if an ISO 14001:2015-confirmed EMS isn't set up by your association.

 All in all, since the foundation of your EMS is set to start, ISO 14001 Services in Sweden what measures can be taken to guarantee that worker responsibility is kept up, that inspiration improves regarding guaranteeing the effective foundation of the EMS, and that the yield keeps up its quality? Allow us to consider what should be possible during this stage:

·         Ability and mindfulness – It is by and large acknowledged that workers who are counseled, included, and educated are more responsive and gainful than the individuals who are most certainly not. On the off chance that you guarantee that your workers are associated with the EMS and its capacities – from target setting to handle planning to progress of ecological angles – you can make a culture of expanded representative inspiration regarding natural issue. The article ISO 14001 Competence, preparing and mindfulness: Why are they significant in your EMS? Can assist you with understanding this theme.

·         The advantage of authority – Leaders have an exceptional chance to impact the associations they oversee through the style and substance of their activities. In our past article, How to exhibit authority as per ISO 14001:2015, we inspected the reexamined necessities that ISO 14001:2015 puts on the association's "top administration." These more prescriptive prerequisites not just spot more accentuation on the job of pioneers, yet support more contact among pioneers and representatives, and surprisingly present a more noteworthy chance for pioneers to impact and guide their workers in natural issue, should they decide to do as such. This presents a huge chance to inspire through initiative.

·         Improved crisis readiness – Employees who are prepared and mindful of crisis readiness cycles and systems are in a phenomenal situation to act quickly and proficiently in case of an ecological crisis – this must be uplifting news for both the association and the more prominent climate.

How to get ISO 14001 Consultants in Kenya

We are providing Service for ISO 14001 Consultant Services in Kenya with extensive expertise and experience in all International Restriction of Hazardous Substances Standards.  For Certification and Implementation of the Standards in your organization, reach Certvalue – ISO 14001 Consultants us at +7760173623 or you can fill the form here, our experts will call you and guide for Successful Certification.  Would be happy to assist your company in the ISO 14001 Certification process to send your research after contact@certvalue.com.