It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Wednesday, January 08, 2020
DR Congo measles outbreak: 6,000 killed as disease claims three times as many lives as Ebola ‘Thousands of Congolese families need our help,’ aid workers say in plea for assistance
Measles has killed three times as many people as Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in what the World Health Organisation (WHO) described as “the world’s worst measles epidemic”.
More than 6,000 people have died following the measles outbreak, with more than 310,000 cases reported in the country since the beginning of 2019. The WHO warned the outbreak would continue if more funding was not made available. And despite $27.6m (£21m) having been mobilised in order to tackle the problem, the organisation said a further $40m was needed for a six-month vaccination programme that would protect children between the ages of six and 16. “We recognise the government’s engagement in the efforts to end the outbreak and we are grateful for the generosity of our donors. But we still need to do more,” said Dr Amedee Prosper Djiguimde, the officer in charge of the WHO office in the DRC. “Thousands of Congolese families need our help to lift the burden of this prolonged epidemic from their backs. We cannot achieve this without adequate finances.” s well as needing additional funding to finance a vaccination programme in the county, health workers in DR Congo also face problems with infrastructure in-country that hampers the uptake of vaccinations – which have been available for several decades – while vaccination use is also low in areas of the country where armed groups are active. “We are doing our utmost to bring this epidemic under control,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa. “Yet to be truly successful we must ensure that no child faces the unnecessary risk of death from a disease that is easily preventable by a vaccine. It comes as health resources in the country are also under strain from the Ebola outbreak that has become the second-worst in history, resulting in the deaths of more than 2,231 people since August 2018. Additional reporting by AP
Shareholders call on Barclays to end fossil fuel investment in landmark climate crisis resolution
Lender found to be Europe's biggest funder of fossil fuel projects since 2015 Paris Climate Agreement
Barclays is being formally challenged by shareholders to stop financing fossil fuel companies that are driving the climate crisis, in the first resolution of its kind filed against a European bank. Eleven pension funds managing £130bn have filed the motion calling on Barclays to bring its activities into line with the Paris Climate Agreement. The resolution is set to be voted on at Barclays’ annual meeting in May, and would require the bank to stop funding any company that has not aligned itself with the Paris goals, which aim to limit global warming to 1.5C. Since the agreement was signed in 2015, Barclays has provided $85bn (£65bn) of funding to fossil fuel firms and carbon-intensive projects. That record makes it Europe’s biggest financier of fossil fuels and the sixth-largest in the world. The shareholder resolution is the latest example of a growing movement for large investors to apply pressure on companies and banks seen as damaging to the environment amid mounting concern about the climate crisis. It comes days after Bank of England governor Mark Carney said that financial firms had been too slow to reduce investment in fossil fuels. He warned that many assets were at risk of being rendered “worthless” by the climate crisis. Under Mr Carney’s leadership, the Bank recently announced plans to conduct “stress tests” designed to forecast how well financial firms would cope with various future climate change scenarios. Those that fail to pass the tests could be required to hold more capital or get rid of assets. Jeanne Martin, campaign manager at ShareAction, which organised the shareholder resolution, said: “The message is clear. Piecemeal changes in energy policy will no longer cut it. “For too long, minor policy improvements have provided cover for the banking sector, while failing to halt fossil fuel financing. “We know what needs to happen. Banks must align their lending with the science. If Barclays supports the Paris Agreement, it will support this resolution.” Barclays’ board does not have to act in line with the resolution, even if a majority of shareholders vote in favour of it. But it is likely to face unwelcome publicity and growing pressure to change tack. Other European banks have begun to take steps to align with the Paris Agreement. In June, French lender Crédit Agricole committed to fully phase out its exposure to the coal industry by 2030 for EU and OECD countries; 2040 for China; 2050 for the rest of the world. BNP Paribas committed in 2017 to no longer do business with companies focused on oil and gas from tar sands, one of the most damaging forms of fossil fuel extraction. The bank will also no longer finance projects that are mainly involved in the transportation and export of oil and gas from tar sands. Laura Chappell, chief executive of Brunel Pension Partnership, which is backing the Barclays resolution, said: “Brunel Pension Partnership Limited believes climate change poses significant risks to global financial stability and could thereby create climate-related financial risks to our own business operations, portfolios and client partner funds, unless action is taken to mitigate these risks.” “The lending practices of many banks poses a serious threat to the goals to the Paris agreement. As such, we welcome ShareAction’s call to the world’s largest banks to integrate climate change risk assessment and to set and disclose adequate phase-out targets in response. We hope the Barclays Board formally supports this resolution.” A spokesperson for Barclays said: “We are working to help tackle climate change, and we meet with Share Action and other shareholders regularly to update them on our progress.” Under Mr Carney’s leadership, the Bank recently announced plans to conduct “stress tests” designed to forecast how well financial firms would cope with various future climate change scenarios. Those that fail to pass the tests could be required to hold more capital or get rid of assets. “For too long, minor policy improvements have provided cover for the banking sector, while failing to halt fossil fuel financing. “We know what needs to happen. Banks must align their lending with the science. If Barclays supports the Paris Agreement, it will support this resolution. Barclays’ board does not have to act in line with the resolution, even if a majority of shareholders vote in favour of it. But it is likely to face unwelcome publicity and growing pressure to change tack. Other European banks have begun to take steps to align with the Paris Agreement. In June, French lender Crédit Agricole committed to fully phase out its exposure to the coal industry by 2030 for EU and OECD countries; 2040 for China; 2050 for the rest of the world. BNP Paribas committed in 2017 to no longer do business with companies focused on oil and gas from tar sands, one of the most damaging forms of fossil fuel extraction. The bank will also no longer finance projects that are mainly involved in the transportation and export of oil and gas from tar sands. Laura Chappell, chief executive of Brunel Pension Partnership, which is backing the Barclays resolution, said: “Brunel Pension Partnership Limited believes climate change poses significant risks to global financial stability and could thereby create climate-related financial risks to our own business operations, portfolios and client partner funds, unless action is taken to mitigate these risks.” “The lending practices of many banks poses a serious threat to the goals to the Paris agreement. As such, we welcome ShareAction’s call to the world’s largest banks to integrate climate change risk assessment and to set and disclose adequate phase-out targets in response. We hope the Barclays Board formally supports this resolution.” A spokesperson for Barclays said: “We are working to help tackle climate change, and we meet with Share Action and other shareholders regularly to update them on our progress.”
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Related video: Neil Woodford apologises for suspending his flagship fund prior to its collapse
Neil Woodford: disgraced money manager and partner took £13.8m dividends before fund collapsed
Chief executive Craig Newman picked up £4.8m. The pair also bagged £36.5m the previous year
Disgraced money manager Neil Woodford and his business partner pocketed £13.8m in dividends in the financial year before the crisis that led to the demise of his fund empire.
The dividend haul was revealed in accounts filed with Companies House for Woodford Investment Management for the last full financial year before the suspension of the flagship equity income fund in June.
Mr Woodford received nearly two-thirds of the payout - around £9m - for the year to 31 March, thanks to his 65 per cent ownership of Woodford Investment Management.
Chief executive Craig Newman picked up £4.8m. The pair also bagged £36.5m the previous year.
It comes as at least 300,000 investors remain trapped in Mr Woodford's Equity Income Fund, which is finally being wound up from 18 January.
Woodford Investment Management is also being wound up, marking the end of the fund manager's once glittering career as a star stock picker in the UK.
Reports recently revealed that Mr Woodford and Mr Newman have flown to the Far East to meet Chinese investors in an attempt to gain backing for a new business.
The dividend payouts were made despite a dire performance by the flagship fund, which saw investors quit in droves, sparking the fund's suspension in the summer and one of the biggest investment scandals in recent memory.
The accounts show that Woodford Investment Management's pre-tax profit more than halved to £18.4m in the year to March 31 2019, from £41.7m in 2017-18.
Bottom-line profits slumped to £16.3m from £33.7m the previous year. Read more
In the accounts filing, the firm blamed the “under-performance in the Woodford Equity Income Fund combined with a period of sustained and negative press coverage” for the fund's suspension.
The suspension came after investors tried to cash out too quickly.
Independent news email
The fund had invested in illiquid assets which were difficult to sell off quickly, making it vulnerable when investors tried to withdraw their cash.
The City watchdog has since announced that it is looking at new rules to prevent funds invested in illiquid assets from allowing daily withdrawals.
The Financial Conduct Authority is mulling changes that could mean investors who want to cash out within one day may have to take a discount on the money they want to withdraw.
Investors in the Woodford Equity Income Fund are set to receive the first payouts when it winds up soon - more than six months after it was first gated.
PA
Human bones on building site sealed off by police turn out to be 1,400 years old
Carbon dating reveals remains date back to between 635 and 685AD
Chiara Giordano Police forensic officers at a building site in Melton Mowbray,
Leicestershire, in October 2019 where human bones were
found which were later dated back to 635-685AD. ( SWNS )
Human bones found on the site of a former care home during demolition have been dated back to the seventh century.
Specialist forensic examinations were carried out to establish the circumstances behind the findings.
However, carbon dating has now dated the bones to the Anglo Saxon period between 635 and 685AD, making them almost 1,400 years old.
The remains have been handed to Cotswold Archaeology Ltd for further research.
Detective Inspector Tim Lindley, of Leicestershire Police, said: “During the past couple of months, we have been carrying out enquiries with contractors at the site as well as with a team of archaeologists.
“This has been a lengthy process to establish the facts but carbon dating has now dated the bones to the period between 635 and 680AD. Aerial view of police forensic tent on a building site in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, where human bones were found in October 2019 which were later dated to 635-685AD. (Tristan Potter / SWNS)
“Cotswold Archaeology Ltd will now carry out their own research into the history of this finding.”
The police cordon set up to preserve the scene has now been removed.
INDIAN NATIONALISTS CLAIMS OF VEDIC MATHS ARE EXAGGERATED, NOT NECESSARILY TRUE: AMARTYA SEN
He said exaggerated claims about Vedic maths have generated a world of fantasy educational institutions in India
Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen on Tuesday said exaggerated claims about Vedic mathematics had generated a world of fantasy in a section of educational institutions in the country, which should be resisted.
He also said the understanding that friendship helped in the creation of knowledge was particularly important in the philosophy and history of science.
"Nationalist sentiments may make a counter-claim of some kind of a secluded flourishing of science and mathematics only in their country, detached from the rest of the world and unrelated to what we can learn from others, but that is not how science and mathematics and culture ultimately proceed," Sen said.
Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen claims Vedic mathematics had generated a world of fantasy in a section of educational institutions in the country. Image credit: Wikipedia
For example, he said the view of ancient India as an island, making discoveries and inventions in splendid isolation, might be pleasing to Indian nationalists, but that understanding was fundamentally mistaken.
"Consider the golden age of mathematics. That was not the Vedic period, contrary to what is often claimed these days. Exaggerated claims about Vedic mathematics have tended to generate a world of fantasy in a section of educational institutions in India today, which I think we should resist," the 86-year-old economist said.
It was a masterclass in the historical journey of India's interaction with the world, through the centuries, in the fields of mathematics and science by none other than Prof. Amartya Sen.https://t.co/m5nnTdtr86pic.twitter.com/fm3Rm7wug2
He added that the golden age of mathematics in India was rather the classic period — the first millennium.
"The great mathematical revolution in India was led particularly by Aryabhata, who was born in 476 AD, and what Aryabhata developed initially was taken forward by other great mathematicians in India like Brahmagupta, Bhaskara and others. While deeply original, Aryabhata's mathematics was substantially influenced by the mathematical revolution that had already taken place in Greece, Babylon and Rome," Sen said.
Some have won recognition and acceptance by outperforming their straight peers, but holding sexual minorities to a higher standard is neither ethical nor reasonable.
Since 2018, I’ve interviewed 40 gay men who either currently teach or have previously taught at Chinese colleges and universities. My aim was to discover what challenges they face as teachers and researchers and to find out how they cope with Chinese academia’s often hostile stance toward sexual minorities.
Unsurprisingly, many of my interviewees told me their sexual identities were a source of stress. School leaders often take an ambivalent view of LGBT staff, and those who choose to come out publicly must balance their desire to be accepted for who they are with the risk of discrimination from colleagues, bosses, and even students.
But not everyone chooses to strike this delicate balance. Some gay professors instead embrace their minority status and use it as a source of motivation. By outperforming their heterosexual colleagues, they seek to force their schools to recognize and accept their identities. While this approach can’t address the roots of homophobia in Chinese academia, some gay scholars are willing to bet — often successfully — that even prejudiced deans won’t dare touch their star faculty, regardless of their sexual orientation.
Song is a 35-year-old lecturer at a university in southwestern China. He has never married and doesn’t have any plans to come out at work. However, he also doesn’t care what his colleagues say about him behind his back, as his research is a crucial source of grant money for the school.
“If they want to speculate, then let them,” he said. “I bring in so much money to the school every year that they wouldn’t think about firing me.” Some gay scholars are willing to bet that even prejudiced deans won’t dare touch their star faculty, regardless of their sexual orientation. - Cui Le, Ph.D. student
Lin, who earned his doctorate in economics in Europe before returning to take a job at a Chinese university, is even more confident. He was one of only a handful of my interviewees who was completely open about his sexuality at work — he had even introduced his boyfriend to his department in the hopes of challenging their stereotypes about gay people.
Lin wasn’t concerned that his workmates or bosses would discriminate against him. “I wasn’t worried about my job,” he said. “I’m a pretty confident person. If the school didn’t want me, then I’d just leave and find a job somewhere that’s just as good as here. (My) confidence stems from my research abilities.”
Lin’s experiences give him reason to be confident. His boyfriend worked at a university in China’s southern Guangdong province, and Lin decided to find a job in neighboring Hong Kong to be closer to him. But when school leaders heard that Lin was thinking of leaving, they begged him to reconsider.
“The vice dean said my research was the best of any teachers they’d ever had,” Lin said. In an effort to persuade Lin to stay, his school found a job for his boyfriend in the area — and even made sure the new position wouldn’t require the man to take a pay cut. But Lin’s boyfriend believed staying in Guangdong would be better for his career, and Lin ultimately chose to go through with his resignation.
“Schools don’t care whether you’re gay or not,” Lin told me. But even he admits he was a special case. “I was always the most outstanding person at the school, so my sexual orientation wasn’t an issue. But if I wasn’t competent, I don’t think they would have kept me. It’s possible they would have discriminated against me, and some might have also used my orientation as an excuse to attack me.”
If a high level of research output can help reduce gay professors’ fear of discrimination and enhance their job security, the need to maintain this output can cause its own anxieties. Ma, a full professor at a university in southern China, is not out professionally, but he believes his colleagues and students can tell he’s gay. He said because of his sexuality, he demands more of himself.
“(I need to) teach good classes and carry out good research — to a higher standard than typical teachers,” he said. “That way I can get along with them (my colleagues) more confidently as equals.”
Wang is a teacher in the same school as Lin, but he believes his co-worker is a special case. “If it was someone ordinary, then it’s not certain,” he said. “If you have equal abilities, others will use it (homosexuality) to discriminate against you. Only if you’re extremely outstanding are you able to overcome this obstacle.”
In other words, Lin’s ability to come out and the favorable treatment he has received don’t reflect the real situation of most LGBT teachers in China. Rather, they’re privileges extended to celebrities within the research community. For most gay university staff, their sexual orientation remains a source of stress rather than a motivational tool. - Cui Le, Ph.D. student
For most gay university staff, their sexual orientation remains a source of stress rather than a motivational tool. Hui used to work at a university in China’s central Hunan province, where he was pessimistic about the prospects of one day coming out. “As someone of moderate talents and average qualifications, I didn’t dare come out,” he told me. “I didn’t have the courage to do it. Without the prop of academic ability, coming out would have left me at the mercy of others.”
Workplace discrimination is a serious problem for China’s gay community. Although there is no data specifically pertaining to academia, a 2018 UN report found that LGBT Chinese are less likely to come out at work than in any other context, mostly due to fears of harassment. Although none of my research participants reported experiencing discrimination, that’s largely because almost all of them refused to risk disclosing their sexual orientations.
Like many other gay teachers trying to adapt to the still-rampant discrimination in Chinese academia, the stress of remaining closeted has made things difficult for Hui. “Having such a tension deep inside is not something I want.” In the end, he opted to quit his job and move to Beijing to work for a private educational organization. For Hui, there’s much more freedom for him there. “It is freer to work outside the government-sponsored institutions. Nobody can manage me anymore.”
In some ways, the stress and pressure experienced by Chinese gay academics mirrors workplace experiences of racial minorities in Western contexts. For example, research shows that American faculty of color are expected to work harder than white faculty if they want to be treated as equals, and they feel as though they must consistently outperform their white peers.
China’s gay academics should not have to feel insecure about their professional futures just because of their sexual identities. School leaders should integrate LGBT issues into teacher training and official policy, improve teachers’ awareness of gender and sexual diversity, and avoid discriminating against candidates based on their sexual orientation.
Only when China’s campuses become queer-friendly will coming out cease to be a privilege for a select few outstanding queer academics and start to become a right available to all.
To protect the identities of the author’s research participants, all interviewees have been given a pseudonym.
Translator: David Ball; editors: Cai Yineng and Kilian O’Donnell.
(Header image: Deposit/Tuchong)
Shanghai’s daytime temperature broke an 80-year record, becoming the warmest day of xiaohan since the previous record of 21 degrees Celsius on Jan. 6, 1940.
Monday was the beginning of the lunar calendar’s coldest period of the year — traditionally known as xiaohan. But many parts of eastern China, including Shanghai, were unseasonably warm.
Shanghai’s daytime temperature broke an 80-year record, becoming the warmest day of xiaohan since the previous record of 21 degrees Celsius on Jan. 6, 1940. According to the city’s meteorological bureau, the mercury rose to 21.1 degrees at noon Monday.
An increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in recent years has contributed to a warmer planet, resulting in rising sea levels, extreme weather, and changing climate conditions. The global average temperature in 2019 was about 1.1 degrees above the pre-industrial period, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
Cities across China, too, have been experiencing hotter summers. The average air temperature in July 2018 was 22.9 degrees — 1 degree hotter than the historical average, according to the China Meteorological Administration.
China Weather, the forecast agency under the meteorological administration, had earlier predicted Monday and Tuesday’s maximum temperatures to hit 20 degrees in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, with minimum temperatures at around 10 degrees.
“In cities like Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Nanchang, the highest temperature is expected to exceed 20 degrees — 10 degrees higher than the average during the same period in recent years,” China Weather said on microblogging platform Weibo. “Such warmth is very rare in January.”
China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and the effects of climate change in the country have been alarming. A 2019 government report noted that the country saw a significant increase in the annual average surface temperature between 1901 and 2018, with the last two decades becoming the warmest period since the beginning of the 20th century.
“With global warming, warm winters are becoming increasingly common,” Wu Rui, chief service officer at the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau, told Sixth Tone. “Many places, such as in Hangzhou and the Yangtze River Delta, have experienced record-breaking warm temperatures this winter.”
On Dec. 16, Shanghai’s temperature also exceeded 20 degrees, making it the highest mid-December temperature recorded in the city’s meteorological history. The Shanghai Climate Center listed the unusually warm day as one of last year’s “10 weather and climate incidents” for the city.
Shanghai’s high average temperatures between August and December have lately been on the rise, according to meteorologists. The average temperature for December last year reached 9.7 degrees, or 2.4 degrees higher than average, marking the second-highest point in recorded history.
Monday’s warm spell, however, is temporary: The Shanghai Meteorological Bureau said the temperature will plummet to a chilly 8 degrees on Wednesday.
Editor: Bibek Bhandari.
(Header image: A couple in summer clothes crosses the street in Shanghai, Jan. 6, 2020. Shi Yangkun/Sixth Tone)
The number of people infected with a mysterious viral pneumonia in Wuhan has climbed to 59, with the first patient exhibiting symptoms as early as Dec. 12, the city’s health commission announced Sunday. Though the virus has not yet been identified, several causes — including SARS, as many in the country feared — have been ruled out.
Seven of the infected individuals are in critical condition, down from 11 in the commission’s previous statement Friday. No deaths from the pneumonia have been reported.
In addition to severe acute respiratory syndrome — a disease that killed over 700 people in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Chinese mainland in 2002-2003 — several other viruses including bird flu, regular flu, and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) have also been eliminated as potential causes.
Wuhan authorities first acknowledged over two dozen cases of the unexplained illness on Dec. 31. As of Sunday, 16 people had been hospitalized with pneumonia in Hong Kong after returning from Wuhan, according to the special administrative region’s Centre for Health Protection. The day before, Singapore’s health ministry said that a 3-year-old who had returned to the city-state after traveling to Wuhan had contracted respiratory syncytial virus, a common cause of childhood pneumonia, and was quarantined but in stable condition.
Meanwhile, China’s health officials and state-run media outlets have said little about the possibility of infections spreading to other cities on the mainland.
However, according to Ma Jin, director of the School of Public Health at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, this should be seen as an encouraging sign. “China’s epidemic prevention system works like this: Once a hospital receives a suspected case, it will report to the health commissions immediately — so if there are any more infections in other cities, the public should know about it,” Ma told Sixth Tone.
The Wuhan Health Commission’s most recent statement includes a seven-point action plan for dealing with the outbreak. It says that 163 people who came into close contact with the infected individuals had been put under medical observation, and that the South China Seafood Wholesale Market — where the first infections are believed to have occurred — had been shut down for “further hygiene investigations.” The health authority added that it is still trying to identify the pathogen and determine the exact origin of the infections.
Amid online backlash over the Wuhan government’s initial response to the infection, which some felt was slow and inadequate, local police announced the next day that eight people from the city had been taken into custody for “spreading rumors” about the disease that many online feared might be SARS.
In a statement Monday, the World Health Organization said Wuhan authorities had been providing information about the outbreak to the WHO’s China office since Dec. 31. “The symptoms reported among the patients are common to several respiratory diseases, and pneumonia is common in the winter season,” the WHO said. “However, the occurrence of 44 cases of pneumonia requiring hospitalization clustered in space and time should be handled prudently.”
The WHO suggested that there could be an “exposure link to animals,” given that several of the initial infections occurred in vendors at the seafood market, which also sells poultry and meat. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy in Minnesota, told the U.S. health news website Stat that the virus likely comes from birds or animals and not seafood.
With the first day of the Spring Festival holiday — during which around 400 million Chinese people travel to their hometowns to be with family — just weeks away, there is some concern that the pneumonia cluster in Wuhan may become a national rather than a local problem. But Director Ma says it’s possible to improve one’s chances of staying safe, too.
“Spring Festival will increase the possibility of infection for sure,” he said. “However, there are ways for people to prevent it — for example, by washing hands often and avoiding sharing food with others.”
Health officials in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, China are reporting (computer translated) a total of 59 patients with unexplained diagnosis of viral pneumonia have been reported as of Jan.5, including 7 critically ill patients.
Image/WHO Twitter
No fatal cases have been recorded. All patients are receiving treatment in isolation. 163 close contacts are under medical surveillance.
Among the 59 patients, the earliest onset of the cases was December 12, 2019, and the latest onset was December 29.
An epidemiological survey showed that some patients were operating households in Wuhan South China Seafood City (South China Seafood Wholesale Market). As of now, preliminary investigations have shown no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission and no medical staff infections. Respiratory pathogens such as influenza, avian influenza, adenovirus, infectious atypical pneumonia ( SARS) and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) have been excluded . Pathogen identification and cause tracing are still underway.
According to a World Health Organization (WHO) risk assessment today, there is limited information to determine the overall risk of this reported cluster of pneumonia of unknown etiology. The reported link to a wholesale fish and live animal market could indicate an exposure link to animals.
At present, with the support of the state and Hubei Province, Wuhan has adopted the following main prevention and control measures:
First, it is to treat patients with all its strength.
The second is to carry out isolation treatment for all cases.
The third is to continue to conduct relevant case searches and retrospective investigations in medical institutions throughout the city.
The fourth is to carry out close contact tracking seriously, implement medical observation on the close contacts that have been tracked according to regulations, and have not found any abnormal symptoms such as fever.
Fifth, we will take measures to suspend the market for South China Seafood City, and carry out environmental sanitation and further hygiene investigations.
Sixth, actively carry out epidemiological investigations.
Seventh, cooperate with the state and province to carry out pathogen identification (including nucleic acid detection and virus isolation and cultivation) and trace the cause of the cause, and prevention and control work is proceeding in an orderly manner.
Several of the victims were students or faculty at the University of Alberta
CBC News ·
A newlywed couple, a family of four and a mother with her two daughters were among more than two dozen Edmontonians killed when a Ukrainian passenger plane crashed minutes after takeoff Wednesday from Tehran's main airport.
Payman Parseyan, a member of the Iranian-Canadian community in Edmonton, said he knew many passengers who were on board Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752
All 176 people on board the Kiev-bound Boeing 737 were killed.
Reuters is reporting 30 of the dead were from Edmonton, almost half of the 63 Canadians identified by officials so far as having died in the crash. Many of the known victims from Edmonton have associations with the University of Alberta.
"We lost a significant portion of our community," Parseyan told CBC Radio's Edmonton AM. "Everybody in Edmonton that's of Iranian descent will know somebody that was on that flight."
'Shocking to the whole community'
Arash Pourzarabi and Pouneh Gorji, both in their mid-20s, were graduate students in the U of A's computer science program. They had travelled to Iran for their wedding, said Reza Akbari, president of the Iranian Heritage Society of Edmonton.
He said he heard the couple was accompanied by four friends who travelled with them to celebrate the wedding.
"It's devastating and shocking," Akbari said. "It's a tragic moment."
Akbari said a group chat on the app Telegram has become a lengthy memorial, with people from the Iranian community sharing stories about those who have been lost.
"When you go from top to the bottom, it's hard to believe — all these wonderful people ... these people who really were actually impactful in our community, they're not among us anymore. And in one incident all of them are gone."
Akbari said he knew eight or nine of the victims, and knew two of them well. He said he expects the grief will spread well beyond the Iranian community.
"I have no doubt that there's so many people in Edmonton, regardless of their cultural background, they know them because there's doctors, university professors, among these people. It's just tragic."
U of A engineering professors Pedram Mousavi and Mojgan Daneshmand, and their daughters, Daria and Dorina, were killed, said Masoud Ardakani, associate chair of the University of Alberta's electrical and computer engineering department.
Daria, born in 2005, attended Allendale School, and her sister, Dorina, born in 2010, attended Windsor Park School.
Dr. Shekoufeh Choupannejad, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the Northgate Centre Medical Clinic in Edmonton, and her two daughters, were also killed, Parseyan said.
Both daughters are U of A students. Saba Saadat was studying medicine; her sister, Sara, was a clinical psychology student.
Parseyan said many international students can't travel to the United States, so they travel through European connections.
University professors Pedram Mousavi and Mojgan Daneshmand, along with their daughters, from left, Daria and Dorina, are among the dead, a University of Alberta spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. (zaghtweet1/Twitter) (zaghtweet1/Twitter)
Information was shared among Iranians in Edmonton through a chat group, and once manifests were released, names were cross-referenced and confirmed, he said.
A community group of about 100 people has formed to make arrangements for families of the victims, Parseyan said.
"Edmonton's Iranian community isn't Canada's largest Iranian community, but we are working together to ensure all members of the community are supported during this difficult time."
Parseyan said members of the community learned about the crash while watching the news of Iran's missile attacks against two airbases in Iraq housing U.S. and coalition forces that took place a few hours before the crash.
"Many were expecting their friends and [family] members to come back ... [and] were well aware what flight they were on," said Parseyan, a former president of the Iranian Heritage Society of Edmonton.
He said one person who knew a passenger on the plane had called him and asked him for more information.
"He called and said, 'Hey, is there any chance there's a second flight to Kyiv, this is a mistake? This can't be real.' He's devastated."
Parseyan said the news is difficult for an Iranian community already concerned about ongoing aggression between Iran and the United States
'This is a terrible day'
In a statement issued Wednesday, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said he is "deeply saddened" by the news of the plane crash and extended sympathies on behalf of the provincial government.
"Alberta has been enriched by a small but dynamic and highly educated Iranian community," Kenney said. "This is a terrible day for them, and I am sure that all Albertans join me in expressing our condolences to the entire community, which is affected by this disaster."
Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson issued a statement Wednesday.
"I was heartbroken to hear this morning of the devastating news," Iveson said. "While no words can erase the pain this crash has caused, I, on behalf of Edmontonians and your city council, would like to offer the families and friends who have lost a loved one in this tragedy our deepest condolences.
"Edmonton is in mourning today — our community has suffered a terrible loss."
David Turpin, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Alberta, also expressed his sorrow in a statement
"Words simply cannot express the loss I know we all are feeling," Turpin said. "On behalf of the University of Alberta, I wish to extend our deepest condolences to the families, friends, colleagues and loved ones of the victims of this tragedy.
"This is a devastating loss for the University of Alberta. Ours is a closely interconnected community, and we grieve with everyone touched by this terrible loss— friends, classmates, roommates, professors, students, mentors, and colleagues. The University of Alberta's flags will be lowered to half-mast in recognition of this tragedy."
Turpin said counselling and other services are available to students, staff, faculty, and others in the community.
The disaster was the largest recent loss of life among Canadians since an Air India flight blew up in 1985 over the Atlantic Ocean, killing 268 Canadians.
The plane crash marks the single largest loss of life of Edmontonians. A tornado that tore through parts of the city in 1987 killed 27 people.
