Romanian authorities called for calm and placed an eastern region under quarantine, as tests confirmed the deadly strain of a bird flu virus that has devastated flocks and killed dozens of people in Asia has moved into eastern Europe.
British laboratory tests on Saturday confirmed the virus detected in wild birds found dead in the Danube delta was the H5N1 strain, identical to that discovered in Turkey a week ago. Authorities around the world fear it could mutate into a form that can be passed among people, leading to a flu pandemic which some say could potentially kill millions. The test results underscored fears that Europe is unprepared for a potential influenza pandemic should the avian disease mutate into a major threat to humans. The European Commission's health directorate paints a grim picture of such a likelihood.
"Experts take the view that an influenza pandemic is inevitable and may be imminent," it said on its Web site, adding that the most likely source is a strain jumping from animals to humans. Although H5N1 is highly contagious among birds, it is difficult for humans to contract.
In Romania, Agriculture Minister Gheorghe Flutur also called for calm, and placed the country's eastern region of Dobrogea under quarantine, requiring all vehicles entering and leaving the area to be disinfected. Checkpoints were set up on roads entering the counties, and the region was banned from exporting eggs and poultry meat. The area includes the Danube and Black Sea counties of Tulcea and Constanta, where 1.5 million people live. The two counties are an important stop for migratory birds from Asia.
In nearby Poland, the government said it was ordering the country's farmers to keep poultry in closed quarters as of Monday, and was banning the sale of live birds at open-air markets and prohibiting pigeon races.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
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