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EFE News Briefs for Thursday, Oct. 16 (End of the day)(EFE Ingles Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) U.S. gov't admits mistakes handling Ebola, Repubs demand ban on flights Washington (EFEUSA).- The U.S. government and the Dallas hospital where a man died of Ebola admitted to errors that led to the infection of two nurses, while Republicans are demanding a ban on flights from the African nations affected by the disease. In a House investigatory subcommittee hearing, lawmakers charged the government with being slow to halt the arrival of Ebola in the United States and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Thomas Frieden said that "it's not easy" to prevent the virus from spreading. The "mistakes" that occurred must be "corrected quickly" to prevent more infections but the "trust and credibility of the administration and government are waning as the American public loses confidence each day," said Pennsylvania Republican Tim Murphy, the subcommittee chairman. --- Ban Ki-moon asks for $1 bn to fight Ebola United Nations (EFE).- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asked the international community for $1 billion to combat the Ebola epidemic, which he said he believes can be overcome if all actors "work together effectively." "Dozens of countries are showing their solidarity," Ban said in remarks to reporters at U.N. headquarters, "but we need to turn pledges into action," and he set Dec. 1 as the deadline for reducing the rate of transmission of the disease. "We need more doctors, nurses, equipment, treatment centers and medevac capacities. I appeal to the international community to provide the $1 billion launch that will enable us to get ahead of the curve and meet our target of reducing the rate of transmission by December 1st," said Ban. --- 5 Arrested in Mexico with military guns, grenades Mexico City (EFE).- Federal Police arrested five men in possession of drugs and military-grade weapons in the western state of Michoacan, Mexico's National Security Commission said. The men were pulled over while driving on the Lazaro Cardenas-Uruapan highway after police noticed they were armed, the commission said in a statement. The suspects, who range in age from 21 to 36, were carrying cocaine, marijuana, army-issue guns and grenades, as well as ammunition. --- Apple unveils thinnest-ever version of iPad San Francisco (EFE).- U.S. tech giant Apple unveiled its thinnest-ever iPad, the iPad Air 2, as well as an upgraded version of its smaller-sized tablet and a higher-resolution iMac. The iPad Air 2 is just 6.1 millimeters (0.24 inches) thick, 18 percent thinner than the iPad Air; has an anti-reflective coating that reduces glare by 56 percent; and comes equipped with the A8X chip, which delivers 40 percent faster CPU performance. "Look how thin it is," Apple CEO Tim Cook said at Thursday's event at the company's Cupertino, California, headquarters. "Can you even see it?" --- Venezuela says it can weather oil price drop Caracas (EFE).- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said his government can withstand a continued drop in oil prices and recalled that the South American country has requested an urgent OPEC meeting to address the issue. "A revolutionary government with economic power like the one I preside over, we have plans, I have plans, to get through any situation, no matter how far down they want to send oil prices. We have plans to replace and guarantee the hard currency the country needs for the economy to function," the leftist head of state said. Maduro made his remarks during a Cabinet meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace, saying his country will seek to buoy oil prices and that they "will rebound" soon. --- Joan Rivers died from lack of oxygen to the brain during operation New York (EFE).- U.S. actress Joan Rivers died from cerebral damage caused by lack of oxygen in her blood, a "predictable complication" during a medical procedure, the New York Chief Medical Examiner's Office announced. The popular comedienne, performer and TV host died in New York on Sept. 4, a week after undergoing a minor throat operation that required her to be admitted on an urgent basis to Mount Sinai Hospital. According to the medical examiner's office, Rivers was anesthetized with Propofol - which was also implicated in the death of Michael Jackson - during a procedure to try and repair damage to her vocal cords. The medical examiner's report does not assign any negligence in the matter and calls Rivers' death a "therapeutic complication." --- Argentina successfully launches 1st telecom satellite Buenos Aires (EFE).- Argentina successfully launched its first domestically designed and developed geostationary communications satellite, an event the government called "historic." Seven years in development, the Arsat-1, manufactured by the state-run firm Invap in the southern city of Bariloche, was launched at 2144 GMT from the Kourou launch facility in French Guiana on board an Ariane 5 rocket. The satellite separated from the rocket booster stage 33 minutes after launch and is being monitored by the ground control station in Benavidez. It is expected to reach its stationary orbital position some 36,000 km (22,300 mi.) above the Earth in about 10 days. EFE bp (c) 2014 EFE News Services (U.S.) Inc. |