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From: Barnes
The new coronavirus has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization, as the outbreak continues to spread outside China. Hundreds of people in China have died from the virus, mostly in Hubei, with many thousands of cases nationally. This outbreak needs to be neutralized. China has said it will send charter plans to bring back Hubei province residents who are overseas "as soon as possible". A foreign ministry spokesman said this was because of the "practical difficulties" Chinese citizens have faced abroad. Hubei is where the virus emerged in a fish market in the city of  Wuhan. The WHO said there had been dozens of cases in 18 other countries, but only a small number of deaths. Most international cases are in people who had been to Wuhan in Hubei. However in a few cases - in the UK, Germany, Japan, Vietnam and the United States - patients were infected by people who had traveled to China. This is the main reason China has shut its borders down.
From: Barnes
The death of a Chinese doctor who tried to warn about the coronavirus outbreak has sparked an unprecedented level of public anger and grief in China. Li Wenliang died after contracting the virus while treating patients in Wuhan. Last December he sent a message to fellow medics warning of a virus he thought looked like Sars - another deadly coronavrius. But he was told by police to "stop making false comments" and was investigated for "spreading rumours". News of his death was met with an intense outpouring of grief on Chinese social media site Weibo - but this quickly turned into anger. There had already been accusations against the government of downplaying the severity of the virus - and initially trying to keep it secret. Dr Li's death has fuelled this further and triggered a conversation about the lack of freedom of speech in China. The country's anti-corruption body has now said it will open an investigation into "issues involving Dr Li".  
From: St Osmunds
Newfoundland in Canada was gripped by another freak winter storm this Friday 29th February 2020. This was its 22nd blizzard of the winter season. Previously,  over 70cm of snow had fallen in Newfoundland and Labrador in 48 hours whilst winds of up to 140 m/ph raged outside. Powerful blizzards ripped through these eastern Canadian provinces, developing into what's known as a 'bomb cyclone'. People were trapped inside because 76.2cm fell and blocked their front door and all exits. Here are the 5 craziest things to come out of Newsfoundland's Stormaggedon: Cars have literally been drowned by the snow, and people could simply not dig them out. People took ice-baths as a way of celebrating just how cold it was The wind was so powerful that it rang doorbells all over the region! Imagine opening your front door and instead of a friendly face ups are faced by an icy snow wall! One poor journalist who braved the battering snow storm to give us all an update actually got literally blown away ! And on the positive side, shovellers who got tired of digging made themselves some chilly furniture; and when snow buried roads are buried in snow, people went sliding and many took up snowboarding in the streets. Image copyright : Leona Rockwood Article by : Rosaria.  
From: Barnes
Have you ever wished that the pesky mosquito would just go away? Well, in the space of just two years, scientists have been able to wipe out the annoying bugs from two Chinese islands. This is an amazing achievement. However could it be done globally and what would be the effect on our ecosystem? Mosquitos are serious killers in the animal kingdom; rated one of the most dangerous animals by scientists and are the main source of deadly diseases such malaria or ebola. Wiping out this entire species would save billions of lives today and in the future. But on the other hand, trillions of mosquitos would die. This would not be the first time our species had eliminated an other - Dodos, Pyrenean Ibexes, Baiji White Dolphins, and West African Black Rhinoceros' are all good examples of animals that are now extinct due to our selfish need for money, food and enjoyment. However, there's a catch with the idea of wiping out mosquitos... the ecosystem is at risk if we proceed. Although we know that we would be unable to survive without bees, no one is sure what might happen if the population of mosquitos was wiped out. Our Fragile  ecosystem is already failing due to climate change and another major upheaval like that might just be beginning of the end for our fragile planet.