Gulf Arab officials used the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday to slam Iran for what they said was its destabilizing behavior in the region, taking advantage of Tehran’s conspicuous absence at the annual event. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had been a regular presence at the annual forum that brings together top politicians, CEOs and bankers, and he often clashed with his Gulf Arab counterparts at competing sessions. But this year, he did not show. As a result, the platform was wide open for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to criticize Iran. Iran, the leading Shiite Muslim power, and Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally, are rivals for influence in the Middle East, where they support opposing sides in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. “In the Middle East, we have two competing visions … and the vision of darkness is sectarianism. It’s trying to restore an empire that was destroyed thousands of years ago. It’s using sectarianism and terrorism in order to interfere in the affairs of other countries,” Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told a panel at the forum. “History has shown that light always prevails over darkness.” Iran denies interference in Arab countries’ affairs. Last year at Davos, Zarif said Iran and Saudi Arabia should be able to work together to help end conflicts in Syria and Yemen. Yemeni conflict Saudi-led forces, which back the Yemeni government, have fought the Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen’s civil war. Saudi Arabia’s crown prince has described Iran’s supply of rockets to the Houthis as “direct military aggression” that could be an act of war. Lebanon’s Prime …
Former Pharma Exec Confirmed as New US Health Chief
The Senate has confirmed a former pharmaceutical industry executive as head of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. Alex Azar, former president of the U.S. division of Eli Lilly & Co., was confirmed by a 55-43 vote on Wednesday. Azar, 50, will replace Tom Price, who resigned in September amid questions over his use of private jets for official travel. Azar says he has four main priorities for the Health and Human Services Department: help curb the cost of prescription drugs; make health insurance more affordable and available; continue bipartisan efforts to focus Medicare payments on quality; and confront the opioid addiction epidemic. Azar had served in senior health jobs under President George W. Bush and had the support of much of the health care industry. …
Toys R Us, Citing Holiday ‘Missteps,’ Will Close up to 182 Stores
Toys R Us, a nostalgic favorite even as many shoppers moved to Amazon and huge chains like Walmart, plans to close up to 182 stores, or about 20 percent of its U.S. locations. The company that once dominated toy sales in the U.S. has been operating under bankruptcy protection since last fall, when it filed for Chapter 11 under the weight of $5 billion in debt. Toys R Us operates about 900 stores in the U.S., including Babies R Us stores. Loyal fans lamented the closing of their hometown stores. Many said they liked to shop at Toys R Us because of the atmosphere and the variety of toys they found. “It’s an experience,” said Bryan Likins of Indianapolis, who takes his 4-year-old daughter to Toys R Us. “She likes to walk through the store and point to different toys she liked.” Likins said he remembered playing with the video games and trying out bikes with his brothers at Toys R Us, and he liked continuing that with his child. He said he shopped on Amazon only for specific items that he wasn’t sure other toy sellers carried. The store closings will begin in February and the majority of locations identified for closure, which include Babies R Us stores, will go dark by mid-April. At some other locations, Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores will be combined. The bankruptcy court still must sign off on the closings. Toys R Us wouldn’t say how many jobs were to be …
Move Over, Dolly: Monkeys Cloned; A Step Closer to People?
For the first time, researchers have used the cloning method that produced Dolly the sheep to create two healthy monkeys, bringing science an important step closer to being able to do the same with humans. Since Dolly’s birth in 1996, scientists have cloned nearly two dozen kinds of mammals, including dogs, cats, pigs, cows and polo ponies, and have also created human embryos with this method. But until now, they have been unable to make babies this way in primates, the category that includes monkeys, apes and people. “The barrier of cloning primate species is now overcome,” declared Muming Poo of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai. He and colleagues announced their success with macaques in a paper released Wednesday by the journal Cell. The female baby monkeys, about 7 and 8 weeks old, are named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua. “It’s been a long road,” said one scientist who tried and failed to make monkeys and was not involved in the new research, Shoukhrat Mitalipov of Oregon Health & Science University. “Finally, they did it.” In principle, Poo said, the feat means humans can be cloned. But he said his team has no intention of doing that. Mainstream scientists generally oppose making human babies by cloning, and Poo said society would ban it for ethical reasons. Instead, he said, the goal is to create lots of genetically identical monkeys for use in medical research, where they would be particularly valuable because they are more like humans than other …
Protests Roil Swiss Cities Ahead of Trump’s Davos Visit
Protesters have been pouring into the streets in several Swiss cities to express opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump’s attendance at this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos. Trump arrives Thursday in the Swiss ski resort and is slated to present his “America First” message in a speech Friday to global business and political leaders. On the eve of his arrival, members of Trump’s economic team previewed the strategy for increasing U.S. global competitiveness. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, one of 10 Cabinet secretaries attending the gathering, endorsed a lower dollar, pushing the greenback to its lowest level in three years, according to the Bloomberg Dollar Index. “Obviously, a weaker dollar is good for us as it relates to trade and opportunities,” Mnuchin told reporters at Davos. A day after Trump imposed tariffs on imported solar-energy components and large washing machines, Mnuchin said he was not worried about what many see as a clash between Trump’s protectionist policies and the concept of globalism. “This is about an ‘America First’ agenda, but ‘America First’ does mean working with the rest of the world” on free trade issues, Mnuchin said. But many observers and analysts see an irreconcilable conflict of economic philosophies. Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at Washington’s Peterson Institute for International Economics, expressed amusement at the prospect of the populist Trump speaking at a forum that has become a symbol of the growing consensus around an increasingly globalized world. “It’s hard to square ‘America First’ with the Davos ethos of globalism, …
New Nicotine Delivery System Part of FDA’s Anti-Smoking Campaign
The United States Food and Drug Administration will be talking about alternatives to cigarette smoking as it deliberates whether to approve a new product offered by tobacco companies that delivers nicotine to the user without burning tobacco. The American Lung Association reports that cigarette smoking rates in the U.S. are at historically low levels. A little over 15 percent of Americans smoke. …
Cigarette Smoking Rates in US Reach Historic Lows
The American Lung Association says fewer Americans smoke cigarettes now than before tobacco control policies were put in place. In its annual report, the ALA says smoking rates among adults and teens are at historic lows. On average, just over 15.5 percent of American adults and eight percent of high school students smoke cigarettes. The association gets its data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which show the smoking rate declined from 20.9 percent in 2005 to 15.5 percent in 2016. Still, CDC data shows that nearly 38 million American adults continue to smoke. “The good news is that these data are consistent with the declines in adult cigarette smoking that we’ve seen for several decades. These findings also show that more people are quitting, and those who continue to smoke are smoking less,” according to Corinne Graffunder, director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health quoted in a news release from the CDC. Yet, the American Lung Association finds that certain groups and regions in the United States are disproportionately impacted by tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke. Thomas Carr, the ALA’s Director of National Policy who wrote the 2018 report “The State of Tobacco Control,” said poorer Americans, those who are less educated, Native Americans and some ethnic groups have smoking rates that are close to 30 percent or higher. “The tobacco industry advertises more to some of these groups and more heavily than others, and you will find in low-income areas, there are …
Trump Administration Prepares Flurry of Trade Moves
The Trump administration is set to announce a raft of trade decisions over the next months, ranging from curbs on foreign imports of steel and aluminum to steps to clamp down on China’s alleged theft of intellectual property. U.S. President Donald Trump has stressed his “America First” agenda in his first year in office and called for fairer, more reciprocal trade. He has blamed globalization for ravaging American manufacturing jobs as companies sought to reduce labor costs by relocating to Mexico and elsewhere. Imported washing machines, solar panels In its first major trade decision of the year, the administration slapped steep tariffs on imported washing machines and solar panels, boosting Whirlpool Corp. and dealing a setback to the renewable energy industry. Monday’s decision imposed a 20 percent tariff on the first 1.2 million imported large residential washers in the first year, and a 50 percent tariff on machines above that number. The tariff declines to 16 percent and 40 percent respectively in the third year. The move punishes Samsung Electronics, which recently began washer production in South Carolina, and LG Electronics, which is building a plant in Tennessee. The U.S. Solar Energy Industries Association on Tuesday warned that Trump’s move to slap 30 percent tariffs on imported panels would kill tens of thousands of jobs, raise the cost of going solar and quash billions of dollars of investment. South Korea could push back by launching a complaint through the Geneva-based World Trade Organization, but that is likely to take years. Seoul …
Europe’s Recovery Rolls On — And So Does European Central Bank Stimulus
Europe’s economy is on a roll — raising the question of exactly when the European Central Bank will end its extraordinary stimulus efforts. Bank President Mario Draghi will be at pains this week to leave that point open. No changes in stimulus settings or interest rates are expected at Thursday’s meeting of the bank’s 25-member governing council, which sets monetary policy for the 19 countries that use the euro. Draghi’s post-meeting news conference, however, will be closely scrutinized for any hints of a change in the timetable for withdrawing a key stimulus component — a massive bond-buying program — later this year. Here is a fast guide. Where’s inflation? Stubbornly low inflation is why Draghi and his ECB colleagues want to keep the stimulus program running. The bank’s mission is to keep inflation consistently close to but below 2 percent. Usually that means fighting inflation, but in the case of this economic recovery, prices have been unusually slow to respond to a pickup in demand for goods. Annual inflation was just 1.4 percent in December. Excluding oil and food, it was even lower, at 0.9 percent. Meanwhile, the economy is expected to have grown 2.4 percent in 2017; unemployment has fallen from over 12 percent to 8.7 percent. ECB officials say that eventually growth will lead to higher wages as unemployment falls and labor becomes scarcer. But inflation has taken its time to show up. Stimulus settings So Draghi has been urging patience. The bank lowered its bond purchases to …
Winners, Losers of Trump’s Solar Panel Tariff
President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law a steep tariff on imported solar panels, a move billed as a way to protect American jobs but which the solar industry said would lead to tens of thousands of layoffs. The following are some questions and answers about the decision: What impact will the decision have on the solar industry? Trump has said the tariff will lead to more U.S. manufacturing jobs, by preventing foreign goods that are cheap and often subsidized from undercutting domestic products. He also expects foreign solar panel producers to start manufacturing in the United States. “You’re going to have people getting jobs again and we’re going to make our own product again. It’s been a long time,” Trump said as he signed the order. The main solar industry trade group, the Solar Energy Industries Association, has a different view: It predicts the tariff will put 23,000 people out of work in the panel installation business this year by raising product costs and thus reducing demand. Research firm Wood Mackenzie estimated that over the next five years the tariffs would reduce U.S. solar installation growth by 10 to 15 percent. The United States is the world’s fourth-largest solar market after China, Japan and Germany. Research firm CFRA analyst Angelo Zino said he expected any added manufacturing jobs would be “minimal” given the 18 months to two years it takes to build and ramp up a new production facility and the industry’s shift toward automation. Who wanted the …
Sao Paulo Shuts Parks as Yellow Fever Outbreak Kills 70
Sao Paulo closed its zoo and botanical gardens Tuesday as a yellow fever outbreak that has led to 70 deaths is picking up steam. The big Inhotim art park, which attracts visitors from all over the world, also announced that all visitors would have to show proof of vaccination to be allowed in. The park said the measure was preventative and no case of yellow fever had been found there. Cases of yellow fever have been rising in Brazil during the southern hemisphere summer rainy season, and health officials are planning to vaccinate millions of people in the coming weeks in the hopes of containing the outbreak. Authorities did not say when the Sao Paulo zoo or nearby botanical gardens would reopen. The zoo said in a statement that a wild monkey was found dead last week in the park that contains the zoo and tests Monday confirmed it was positive for yellow fever. According to figures put out by each state, 148 cases have been confirmed in the southeastern states of Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Of those, 69 people have died. A week ago, the Health Ministry had confirmed 34 cases and 19 deaths in those states; it also confirmed one case in the capital district that ended in death. Sao Paulo has registered the most cases, with 81, and the World Health Organization recommended last week that foreigners planning to travel anywhere in the state be vaccinated for the mosquito-borne disease. Brazil’s …
US Stresses Lebanon Must Cut Hezbollah from Financial System
Lebanon must cut Iran-backed Hezbollah from the financial sector, a U.S. official on combating illicit finance said Tuesday, two weeks after Washington began a new push to disrupt the militant group’s global financing routes. On a two-day visit to Lebanon, the U.S. Treasury’s Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea “urged Lebanon to take every possible measure to ensure [Hezbollah] is not part of the financial sector.” Billingslea also “stressed the importance of countering Iranian malign activity in Lebanon,” a statement from the United States embassy in Lebanon said. The Iran-backed, Shiite Hezbollah is classified as a terrorist group by Washington, but sits in Lebanon’s delicate national unity government. U.S. officials say Hezbollah is funded not just by Iran but by global networks of people, businesses and money laundering operations. The U.S. Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Acts of 2015 and 2017 aimed to sever the group’s funding routes and a number of people linked to Hezbollah are on sanctions lists. The United States has had to balance its targeting of Hezbollah funding routes with the need to maintain Lebanon’s stability. Lebanese banking and political authorities have lobbied Washington to make sure its anti-Hezbollah measures do not destroy the banking system underpinning the economy. In his meetings with President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and other banking and political figures, Billingslea said the U.S. government was committed to work with Lebanon to protect its financial system and support a “strong, stable and prosperous Lebanon.” Billingslea also said Washington would help …
NAFTA Negotiators Open Key Round of Talks; Trump Cites Progress
U.S., Canadian and Mexican officials opened a key round of negotiations to modernize NAFTA on Tuesday as President Donald Trump, who has regularly threatened to quit the trade pact, said the talks were going “pretty well.” Trump, vowing to undo what he portrays as disastrous trade deals, has in recent days expressed different views of the North American Free Trade Agreement, stoking investor worries that one of the world’s largest trading blocs may be disrupted. With time running out to address U.S. demands for major changes to the 1994 deal, officials met in a Montreal hotel for the sixth and penultimate round of talks, which are to conclude by the end of March to avoid a clash with Mexico’s elections. “We have come to Montreal with a lot of new ideas, a lot of creative strategies to try to bridge some of the gaps in the negotiations,” Canadian chief negotiator Steve Verheul told reporters, adding that he had “high hopes” of progress. Trump offers positive comment Insiders say the Canadian and Mexican governments are prepared to be flexible on a U.S. demand that the amount of North American content in autos be boosted to qualify for duty-free status in NAFTA. But Ottawa and Mexico City strongly oppose the proposal that autos produced on the continent should have 50 percent U.S. content. Differences also remain over how to address the U.S. push for changes to various dispute resolution mechanisms. Trump, who has blamed NAFTA for the loss of U.S. jobs, told …
Survey: US Mayors View Climate Change as Pressing Urban Issue
U.S. mayors increasingly view climate change as a pressing urban issue, so much so that many advocate policies that could inconvenience residents or even hurt their cities financially. The annual survey of big-city executives, released Tuesday by the Boston University Initiative on Cities, also reflected the nation’s sharp political divide. Ninety-five percent of Democratic mayors who responded believed climate change was caused by human activities, a view shared by only half of Republican mayors. A clear majority of mayors were prepared to confront President Donald Trump’s administration over climate change and felt their cities could be influential in counteracting the policies of the Republican president, who at times has called global warming a hoax and last year withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate accord. “A striking 68 percent of mayors agree that cities should play a strong role in reducing the effects of climate change, even if it means sacrificing revenues or increasing expenditures,” a report accompanying the survey stated. Boston mayor started survey In all, 115 mayors of cities with at least 75,000 residents answered the fourth annual survey named for Thomas Menino, a longtime Democratic mayor of Boston who founded the university program before his death in 2014. The survey was sponsored in part by The Rockefeller Foundation and Citigroup. Organizers of the survey declined to release a list of the 115 mayors who responded, citing confidentially agreements. According to the report, nearly two-thirds of the mayors were Democrats and the cities had an average population of …
Drug Companies Told to Do More to Tackle ‘Superbug’ Crisis
Drugmakers’ response to the threat posed by “superbugs” remains patchy even after years of warnings, according to the first analysis of individual companies’ efforts to tackle the antibiotic resistance crisis. The rise of drug-resistant bacteria is a growing threat to modern medicine with the emergence of infections resistant to even last-resort antibiotics — a situation made worse in recent years by overuse of antibiotics and cutbacks in drug research. New analysis by the nonprofit Access to Medicine Foundation (AMF), published Tuesday, found that GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson were doing more than most among large research-based pharmaceutical companies to tackle the problem, while Mylan led the way among generic drugmakers and Entasis was top among biotechs. Overall, GSK led the field with 55 antimicrobial pipeline projects, including 13 vaccines. But action taken by such companies is only the start of what could be done to address the problem, which former Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill in 2014 estimated could cause 10 million deaths a year worldwide by 2050. “The whole of modern medicine depends on being able to control and treat infections,” said Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust charity. “Perhaps the most exciting area of medicine at the moment, immunotherapies for cancer, is impossible unless you can control infection.” ‘Definitely more’ should be done While more experimental antibiotics are now moving through development than a few years ago, the number is still down from what it was during the 1980s and 1990s. And a lot more work needs …
China, South Korea Protest US Tariffs on Washing Machines, Solar Panels
China and South Korea are protesting U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose steep tariffs on washing machines and solar panels, a move that is fueling concerns in Asia that more U.S. protectionist measures are forthcoming. South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong called the tariffs “excessive” and said they violate World Trade Organization rules. Kim said South Korea planned to file a petition against the U.S. at the WTO. The tariffs significantly impact South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, which have captured about one quarter of the U.S. washing machine market that is dominated by American companies Whirlpool and General Electric. Samsung said the tariffs are “a tax on every consumer who wants to buy a washing machine.” China, the U.S.’ largest trade partner and the world’s biggest solar panel manufacturer, said the tariffs are an “overreaction” that would hurt the global trade environment. Beijing’s Commerce Ministry said it would collaborate with other WTO members to “resolutely defend its legitimate interests,” without offering specifics. Trump has frequently criticized China for engaging in what he believes are unfair trade practices that have led to the elimination of U.S. jobs. “After a year’s preparation, Trump is ready to take action to address the huge trade deficit with China and get even,” said Zhang Yi, chief economist with the Beijing-based Capital Securities. Washington will impose tariffs of up to 50 percent on large washing machines over a three-year period and up to 30 percent on solar panels over four years. They were …
Big Pay Package for Musk, With Even Bigger Goals for Tesla
Elon Musk will remain at Tesla under a 10-year, all-or-nothing pay package that demands massive growth. The agreement, revealed Tuesday in a regulatory filing, requires that Tesla grow in $50 billion leaps, to a staggering $650 billion market capitalization. To put those demands in perspective, the electric car maker, based in Palo Alto, California, is worth less than $60 billion today. Tesla must hit a series of escalating revenue and adjusted profit targets, only after which Musk would vest stock options worth 1 percent of company shares. He would get no other guaranteed compensation including salary, bonuses or equity “that vests simply by the passage of time,” Tesla said. If the goals are reached, Tesla will be one of the biggest companies in America, and Musk’s wealth would grow exponentially. If the company reaches the $650 billion benchmark, Tesla would be the fourth-most valuable U.S. company, behind only Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc., and Amazon.com Inc. based on current valuations. It would be larger than and Microsoft Corp., and would exceed the current combined valuation of the world’s top eight publicly-traded auto companies. In order to vest shares when milestones are reached, Musk must stay on as CEO or serve as both executive chairman and chief product officer. Tesla provides for Musk’s long-term leadership, but also gives flexibility to name another CEO in the future. Tesla said while it doesn’t currently intend for Musk to step away from the CEO role, the terms allow Musk to potentially …
Astronauts Go Spacewalking to Give New Hand to Robot Arm
Spacewalking astronauts gave a hand to the International Space Station’s big robot arm Tuesday. As the federal government geared back up 250 miles below, NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Scott Tingle floated outdoors to install the new mechanical gripper. Because of the lingering effects of the government shutdown, the spacewalk got started in the morning without live coverage on NASA TV. An on-air message simply stated: “We regret the inconvenience.” Nearly an hour into the spacewalk, however, NASA TV came alive and began broadcasting the event with typical blow-by-blow commentary. Space station operations were largely unaffected by the three-day shutdown. Considered essential personnel, Mission Control kept watch as usual at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Vande Hei performed a similar spacewalk last October, when he replaced the first of two original hands on the Canadian-built arm. This second new hand will go on the opposite end of the 58-foot arm, able to move like an inchworm by grabbing hold of special fixtures. The bulky bundle of latches – more than 3 feet, or a meter, long and weighing more than 440 pounds, or 200 kilograms – needed to be replaced because of wear and tear. It’s been in orbit, grabbing cargo capsules and performing other chores, since 2001. Tingle had to use extra muscle to release a stubborn bolt securing the spare mechanical arm. “Nice work,” Vande Hei said. “And the crowd goes wild,” chimed in Mission Control. It was the first spacewalk for Tingle, who arrived last month, …
China Sends Top Economic Adviser to Davos as Trade War Concerns Grow
China is sending a top economic adviser and rising politician to lead its largest entourage to date to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. More than 130 members will join Liu He to attend the global economic gathering, where he is expected to speak and outline China’s vision for its economy in 2018, analysts said. He is also expected to warn Washington against the dangers of a possible trade war. When President Xi Jinping attended the meeting last year, he talked about the importance of globalization at a time when President Donald Trump was becoming the United States’ new leader. At the time, Xi also warned that “a trade war will only lead to suffering on both sides.” Some of the messaging is expected to be the same this year. But this time, the threat of a trade war appears to be more a reality than a worry. “I think what Liu He will do is [try] to persuade the U.S. from imposing more trade actions against China. I think that is the most urgent thing to do,” said Tao Ran, an economist and nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Tougher US stance President Trump has long promised to get tough on China and other exporters he argues compete unfairly with U.S. manufacturers, but that talk is now turning to action. On Monday, the U.S. government imposed stiff tariffs on solar panels and washing machines. Last week, Trump told Reuters in an interview …
New Radiation Cancer Treatment Machine for Uganda
Uganda’s cancer patients can finally breathe a sigh of relief after the country got a new cobalt-60 radiation treatment machine. But, health officials say this may not be enough because of an ever increasing number of cancer cases in the country. Halima Athumani reports for VOA from Kampala. …
US Auto Parts Firms Urge NAFTA Compromise to Cover Engineering Work
A trade group representing U.S. auto parts makers on Monday urged the Trump administration to adopt NAFTA automotive rules that cover research, engineering, design and software development work as part of North American regional value content goals. The proposal from the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) was sent to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer as a sixth round of negotiations to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement began in Montreal. U.S. demands for sweeping changes to automotive content rules are among the most contentious issues in the NAFTA talks, including a requirement that half the value of all North American vehicles come from the United States and a far higher content requirement of 85 percent from North America. Canada and Mexico have said the U.S. targets are unworkable, but have not responded with counter-proposals. They are expected to do so at the Montreal talks ending Jan 29. Lack of progress in bridging the gap on autos could jeopardize the negotiations and increase the chances that President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to seek a U.S. withdrawal from NAFTA. The U.S. auto industry, including MEMA and trade groups representing Detroit and foreign-brand automakers, have largely sided with Canada and Mexico in arguing that the U.S. proposals would hurt the industry’s competitiveness. The MEMA letter to Lighthizer makes no mention of the proposed U.S. and regional content targets, and focuses instead on recommendations that its members believe will help retain and grow automotive jobs in the United States. …
China Invites Latin America to Take Part in ‘One Belt, One Road’
China invited Latin American and Caribbean countries to join its “One Belt, One Road” initiative on Monday, as part of an agreement to deepen economic and political cooperation in a region where U.S. influence is historically strong. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the region was a natural fit for the initiative, which China has leveraged to deepen economic and financial cooperation with developing nations. “China will always stay committed to the path of peaceful development and the win-win strategy of opening up and stands ready to share development dividends with all countries,” Wang said at a meeting between China and 33 members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). Representatives from China and CELAC signed a broad agreement to expand ties in the second time China has met with CELAC – a bloc formed in Venezuela in 2011 that does not include the United States or Canada. Though it had few specific details, the agreement is part of an evolving and more aggressive Chinese foreign policy in Latin America as the United States, under President Donald Trump, has taken a more protectionist stance. The “One Belt, One Road” initiative, proposed in 2013 by Chinese President Xi Jinping, promotes expanding links between Asia, Africa and Europe, with billions of dollars in infrastructure investment. Wang emphasized projects to improve connectivity between land and sea, and cited the need to jointly build “logistic, electricity and information pathways.” The so-called Santiago declaration, signed by China and CELAC delegates, also calls …
WHO: Brazil’s Death Toll From Yellow Fever Triples
The number of confirmed cases of yellow fever outbreak in Brazil has tripled in recent weeks, with 20 deaths since July, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. Of 35 confirmed cases, 20 were in Sao Paulo state, which includes South America’s largest city, Sao Paulo. Earlier this month, a case of the disease was confirmed in the Netherlands for a traveler who had recently been in that state. The WHO recommended last week that foreign travelers get vaccinated before visiting. But Brazil’s Health Ministry has said the recommendation, coming just weeks before Carnival, a holiday event in which tens of thousands of tourists descend on Brazil, would not cause it to change its advisory that only travelers going to rural areas be vaccinated. Last week, Brazilians lined up for hours to get yellow fever vaccinations in the country’s largest states, alarmed by the increase in the number of fatal cases of infection and a warning from the WHO to tourists visiting parts of the country. Yellow fever is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes in tropical regions and is still a major killer in Africa. It had largely been brought under control in the Americas. The first sign that the fever was back in Brazil was the death last year of hundreds of monkeys in the Atlantic rain forest in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo and Sao Paulo. …
Heat-not-burn Cigarette Alternative Faces US Scrutiny
A device that heats tobacco without burning it reduces some of the harmful chemicals in traditional cigarettes, but government scientists say it’s unclear if that translates into lower rates of disease for smokers who switch. U.S. regulators published a mixed review Monday of the closely watched cigarette alternative from Philip Morris International. The company hopes to market the electronic device as the first “reduced-risk” tobacco product ever sanctioned by the U.S. government. Philip Morris’ pen-like device, called iQOS, is already sold in more than 30 countries, including Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom. But Philip Morris and its U.S. partner, Altria, need the permission of the Food and Drug Administration to sell it in the U.S. iQOS heats strips of Marlboro-branded tobacco but stops short of burning them, producing a tobacco vapor that includes nicotine. This is different from e-cigarettes, which don’t use tobacco at all but instead vaporize liquid usually containing nicotine. Nicotine is what makes cigarettes addictive. Philip Morris believes its product is closer to the taste and experience of traditional cigarettes, making it more attractive to smokers and reducing their contact with tar and other toxic byproducts of burning cigarettes. Company scientists will present their studies and marketing plan to a panel of FDA advisers this week. The panel’s recommendation, expected Thursday, is non-binding: The FDA will make the ultimate decision on the device later this year. A green light from FDA would mark a major milestone in efforts by both the industry and government to provide …