Category: Foreign

Agency Reporter

The Philippines on Friday reported its first case of lung injury from the use of electronic cigarettes, which have become popular in the country despite warnings against vaping.

The patient is a 16-year-old girl from the central region of Visayas, who was admitted in hospital on Oct. 21 for “sudden onset of severe shortness of breath,” the Department of Health said.

She was initially thought to have a lung infection, but upon further evaluation, her case met the criteria for “electronic cigarette or vaping-associated lung injury” based on the guidelines by the U.S. Centres for Disease Control, the department said.

The teenager was found to have used electronic cigarettes daily for four months. After that time, she also smoked traditional cigarettes.

The patient has been discharged and has stopped smoking, the department said.

Health authorities have been urging people to avoid vaping or electronic cigarettes, stressing they were not healthy alternatives to smoking.

The first case was confirmed as the Philippines’ Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) battled injunction orders against a directive requiring manufacturers of electronic cigarettes and vapes to remove harmful substances from their products.

The FDA order was supposed to take effect on Oct. 24, but manufacturers filed appeals with the regional trial courts.

READ ALSO: Ban e-cigarettes, shisha, group tells FG

Under the directive, the FDA was requiring manufacturers to remove such substances as cinnamaldehyde and diacetyl, which prevent the lungs from removing toxins.

A group of health advocates has been urging Philippine legislators to pass bills increasing taxes on electronic cigarettes and vapes as part of efforts to discourage their use.

U.S. health officials on Thursday reported 2,172 confirmed and probable cases and 3 more deaths from a mysterious respiratory illness tied to vaping, taking the death toll to 42, so far this year.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2,051 confirmed and probable U.S. lung injury cases and 39 deaths associated with use of e-cigarettes, or vaping products.

(NAN)

Agency Reporter

Some 330,000 homes have been left without power after the first major snows of the winter hit south-eastern France, electricity network operator Enedis said on Friday morning.

A 63-year-old man was killed on Thursday evening when a tree fell on him as he tried to clear another fallen tree from a roadway in Isere department, public broadcaster FranceInfo reported.

Local authorities said the A7 motorway in Isere was closed to heavy goods vehicles, but restrictions imposed on other routes on Thursday were lifted.

READ ALSO: Life and time of ex-French President Chirac

State railway company SNCF cancelled all trains between Grenoble and the Rhone Valley town of Valence.

Several other lines in the region would be out of action until the afternoon or suffer disturbances, it said.

(NAN)

Agency Reporter

The first public hearings in the impeachment inquiry, against President Donald Trump, are set to begin on Wednesday, as Democrats step up their public campaign over what they see as an abuse of power by the White House.

Lawmakers will question two career diplomats, who have expressed concern that Trump linked aid to Ukraine to a promise to investigate the president’s political rival, Joe Biden, the frontrunner in the Democratic presidential primary for the 2020 election.

Democrats are also accusing the Republican administration of running a parallel diplomatic service through Trump’s private lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, which potentially undermined national security.

The first people to testify in public will be William Taylor, the top diplomat to Ukraine and George Kent, a career diplomat.

On Friday, Marie Yovanovitch, the former Ambassador to Kiev, will testify.

She was effectively ousted this year by the White House over his apparent refusal to play ball with Giuliani.

The Democrats have been working to quickly advance the impeachment inquiry, with speculation they might be looking to wrap up the investigations before the end of the year.

Read Also: Donald Trump relocates to Florida

Republican lawmakers have nearly uniformly backed the president.

Trump says there was no quid pro quo and has released a reconstructed transcript of one phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The president’s opponents say the call showed pressure on Kiev and highlights Trump’s focus on investigating Biden.

There is no evidence of criminality by Biden, a former vice president.

The Democrat was in charge of Ukraine policy at the end of the Obama administration while his son was being paid handsomely to sit on a board of a Ukrainian energy company. (dpa/NAN)

Our Reporter

 

FORMER Bolivian President Evo Morales has landed in Mexico where he has been offered asylum after resigning as president of Bolivia amid election fraud protests.

Morales said he asked for asylum because his life was in danger.

Morales resigned on Sunday after weeks of protests over a disputed presidential election result.

The Mexican jet carrying him landed at an airport in Mexico City, where he gave a brief press conference.

Morales said he was forced to stand down but did so willingly “so there would be no more bloodshed, no more violence”.

In a tweet, he said it hurt to be leaving Bolivia but he would return with more “strength and energy”.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said a Mexican government plane was sent for Morales.

Meanwhile, Bolivia’s military commander ordered troops to back up police who have clashed with Morales supporters.

Some 20 people were reported injured in the clashes. Morales earlier urged his supporters to resist the “dark powers” that had forced him to step down.

Read Also: ‘Military must act fast to boost soldiers’ morale’

He also tweeted a photo of what he described as “my first night after leaving the presidency forced out by the coup [organised by opposition leader Carlos] Mesa and [opposition activist Luis Fernando] Camacho with the help of the police”.

The deputy head of the Senate, Jeanine Áñez, has said she will take over as interim president until new elections are held.

Morales, a former coca farmer, was first elected in 2006.

He has won plaudits for fighting poverty and improving Bolivia’s economy but drew controversy by defying constitutional term limits to run for a fourth term in October’s election, which is alleged to have been rife with irregularities.

Ebrard announced the decision to grant Morales asylum at a press conference. Mexico has a left-leaning government and has supported Morales.

Ebrard earlier described events in Bolivia as a “coup”, citing the military’s involvement in Morales’ resignation.

Pressure had been growing on Morales since his narrow victory in last month’s presidential election.

On Sunday, events moved swiftly. First, the Organisation of American States, a regional body, announced its audit of the election had found “clear manipulation” and called for the result to be annulled.

In response, Morales agreed to hold fresh elections. But his main rival, Carlos Mesa – who came second in the vote – said Morales should not stand in any new vote.

What really seemed to tip the balance was the intervention of the chief of the armed forces, Gen Williams Kaliman, who urged Morales to step down in the interests of peace and stability.