News Headlines - 07 February 2020
The official Chinese death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose on Friday (Feb 7) to 636, with the government saying total infections had climbed past 31,000.
The toll was raised by 73 new deaths from the epidemic, the National Health Commission said in its daily update. Out of the total rise in the toll, central Hubei province - epicentre of the outbreak - reported 69 deaths, including 64 in the provincial capital Wuhan.
Another 3,143 new cases of infection were confirmed, bringing total infections in the country thus far to 31,161, it said. More than 4,800 of those people were in serious condition.
▽Firms including IBM Japan to develop AI 'guide suitcase' for the blind | The Japan Times
A consortium of five companies including IBM Japan Ltd. said Thursday that they will develop a navigation suitcase equipped with artificial intelligence to help guide people with visual impairments.
The suitcase will be mounted with cameras and sensors and will be capable of moving on its own. The product will guide the user to a destination in an indoor environment while detecting and avoiding obstacles. In addition to navigating routes, a feature to detect and notify users of approaching acquaintances is also being considered.
▽Antarctica logs hottest temperature on record with a reading of 18.3C | The Guardian
Antarctica has logged its hottest temperature on record, with an Argentinian research station thermometer reading 18.3C, beating the previous record by 0.8C.
The reading, taken at Esperanza on the northern tip of the continent’s peninsula, beats Antarctica’s previous record of 17.5C, set in March 2015.
A tweet from Argentina’s meteorological agency on Friday revealed the record. The station’s data goes back to 1961.
▽Muslim nations reject Trump's 'biased' Mideast peace plan in Saudi meeting | The Japan Times
Days after Gulf Arab states expressed their support for President Donald Trump’s efforts at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, representatives from these same countries and other Muslim nations gathered in Saudi Arabia and rejected the White House’s plan as “biased”... The White House plan heavily favors Israel and ignores many of the Palestinians’ core demands by keeping some 750,000 Jewish settlers in place, recognizing Israel’s sovereignty of the strategic Jordan Valley, and asserting Jerusalem as the “undivided capital” of Israel.
▽In Turkmenistan men over 40 banned from dyeing hair black | The Times Hub
A law banning hair painting men was adopted only for the residents of the Lebap velayat. February 1, men aged 40 years working in schools, hospitals and other budgetary institutions, must wear a hairstyle with only natural or light shade. For owners of black natural hair there is a requirement to simulate the gray.
The reason for the order is the decision of the President of the country Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov that was no longer shaded gray. It is also known that at a meeting with the head of the state will be allowed mainly people with bleached hair... Many residents of Turkmenistan expressed dissatisfaction with the order. Two years ago, when the President began to dye hair in black color, its citizens demanded the same.
