The number of confirmed swine flu cases in Australia rose to 1,009 yesterday, more than triple the number just one week ago, the health department said.
The vast majority of the cases — 874 — are in the southern state of Victoria, prompting several other states and territories to quarantine schoolchildren returning home from Victoria for seven days.
Australian Health Minister Nicola Roxon on Friday said health officials were not surprised by the rapid spread of the virus, and said it was likely to continue spreading throughout the southern hemisphere’s winter months.
“This recent surge in cases was not unexpected, given the behavior of the disease that we’ve seen in other countries,” she said.
The defense department canceled its annual parade celebrating the Queen’s birthday near Canberra yesterday, after one of the cadets who was supposed to have marched in the parade tested positive for the virus. The cadet and others he came in contact with were placed in isolation.
Meanwhile, Philippine officials announced yesterday that the start of college classes would be postponed for a week until June 15 because of concerns over the rising number of swine flu cases.
The Department of Health has reported 33 swine flu cases, and all have shown mild symptoms.
The postponement will give foreign students who come from countries with swine flu cases time to self-quarantine, a top education official told DZBB radio.
A string of rape and assault allegations against the son of Norway’s future queen have plunged the royal family into its “biggest scandal” ever, wrapping up an annus horribilis for the monarchy. The legal troubles surrounding Marius Borg Hoiby, the 27-year-old son born of a relationship before Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s marriage to Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon, have dominated the Scandinavian country’s headlines since August. The tall strapping blond with a “bad boy” look — often photographed in tuxedos, slicked back hair, earrings and tattoos — was arrested in Oslo on Aug. 4 suspected of assaulting his girlfriend the previous night. A photograph
The US deployed a reconnaissance aircraft while Japan and the Philippines sent navy ships in a joint patrol in the disputed South China Sea yesterday, two days after the allied forces condemned actions by China Coast Guard vessels against Philippine patrol ships. The US Indo-Pacific Command said the joint patrol was conducted in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone by allies and partners to “uphold the right to freedom of navigation and overflight “ and “other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace.” Those phrases are used by the US, Japan and the Philippines to oppose China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the
‘GOOD POLITICS’: He is a ‘pragmatic radical’ and has moderated his rhetoric since the height of his radicalism in 2014, a lecturer in contemporary Islam said Abu Mohammed al-Jolani is the leader of the Islamist alliance that spearheaded an offensive that rebels say brought down Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and ended five decades of Baath Party rule in Syria. Al-Jolani heads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is rooted in Syria’s branch of al-Qaeda. He is a former extremist who adopted a more moderate posture in order to achieve his goals. Yesterday, as the rebels entered Damascus, he ordered all military forces in the capital not to approach public institutions. Last week, he said the objective of his offensive, which saw city after city fall from government control, was to
IVY LEAGUE GRADUATE: Suspect Luigi Nicholas Mangione, whose grandfather was a self-made real-estate developer and philanthropist, had a life of privilege The man charged with murder in the killing of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare made it clear he was not going to make things easy on authorities, shouting unintelligibly and writhing in the grip of sheriff’s deputies as he was led into court and then objecting to being brought to New York to face trial. The displays of resistance on Tuesday were not expected to significantly delay legal proceedings for Luigi Nicholas Mangione, who was charged in last week’s Manhattan killing of Brian Thompson, the leader of the US’ largest medical insurance company. Little new information has come out about motivation,
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