FIRST EBOLA CASE DIAGNOSED IN THE US

The first case of the deadly Ebola virus diagnosed on US soil has been confirmed in Dallas, Texas. Officials at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital say the unidentified patient is being kept in isolation.

The man is thought to have contracted the virus in Liberia before travelling to the US nearly two weeks ago. More than 3,000 people have already died of Ebola in West Africa and a small number of US aid workers have recovered after being flown to the US.

"An individual travelling from Liberia has been diagnosed with Ebola in the United States," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Thomas Frieden told reporters on Tuesday. According to Mr Frieden, the unnamed patient left Liberia on 19 September and arrived in the US the next day to visit relatives, without displaying any symptoms of the virus.

Symptoms of the virus became apparent on 24 September, and on 28 September he was admitted to a Texas hospital and put in isolation.

But "the bottom line here is I have no doubt that we will control this importation, this case of Ebola, so it does not spread widely in this country," he added. "We will stop it here."

Source: bbc.com

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WHO: ‘MANY THOUSANDS’ OF NEW EBOLA CASES EXPECTED IN COMING WEEKS

Health workers, attend to patients that contracted the Ebola virus, at a clinic in Monrovia, Liberia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2014.

Liberia taxis have turned into "hot sources" of transmission as infected people crisscross town in futile attempts to find hospital beds

The World Health Organization (WHO) says responders to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa need to prepare to scale up their efforts three to four times as the number of cases sees an “exponential increase” over coming weeks.

The U.N. body has been assessing the situation in Liberia, and outlines a desperate situation there and in other countries with a high rate of disease transmission in a statement released on Monday. “As soon as a new Ebola treatment facility is opened, it immediately fills to overflowing with patients, pointing to a large but previously invisible caseload,” the WHO stated. “Many thousands of new cases are expected in Liberia over the coming three weeks.”

The massive pressure on health facilities is aggravating the risk for further contagion. Sick people and their relatives are shuttling through the city in taxis, searching in vain for available hospital beds. Since Ebola is transmitted through bodily fluids such as blood and sweat, the lack of disinfection of these vehicles have turned them into a “hot source” for spreading the disease, according to the WHO.

At an emergency African Union meeting in Addis Ababa on Monday, officials said that measures to curb the outbreak such as border closures, flight bans and extensive quarantines had created a sense of siege in the worst-hit West African countries. Public health officials have previously deemed the closure of porous borders ineffective, and it has been pointed out that bans on transportation — most notably flights to and from the continental airport hubs in Nairobi and Johannesburg — are not only taking a severe economic toll on these stricken nations, but making aid deliveries more difficult.

Senegal officials announced at the meeting that they would allow humanitarian aid to pass through its closed borders.

Source: time.com

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APPLE TO UNVEIL 2 NEW IPHONES AND A WATCH

Apple set not only to unveil two new iPhones at an event on Sept. 9, but will also debut its long-awaited, long-rumored smart watch.

Here’s the specs:

iPhone (Likely “iPhone 6,” but name unconfirmed)

Two different sizes, 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches, a first for the company. Both are bigger than previous iPhones, and the 5.5-inch model will be more expensive than its smaller brethren. The new, bigger iPhones will have a new one-handed typing feature to better accommodate the smaller-pawed among us. Near-Field Communication (NFC) is coming to the new iPhones, along with a mobile payment system for which Apple is partnering with Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Some top Android phones have long had NFC, but the tech hasn’t really taken off just yet.

iWatch (Name also unconfirmed)

It’s geared towards fitness, with footstep and heart-rate monitors built in and a version of Apple’s HealthKit software. It’s covered in “sapphire glass,” which is tougher than your average glass (and already used in parts of previous iPhones). Wireless charging! That’ll make the smartwatch easier to recharge than most other smart fitness bands on the market. Interestingly, the Times says Apple experimented with solar charging, “but that experiment failed.”

It’ll work with Handoff, a new OS X/iOS feature that makes it super-simple to start working on a task on one Apple device and seamlessly switch to another.

Stay tuned for more Apple coverage this weekend and on the day of the event.

Source: time.com

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EBOLA || SUSPECTED KADUNA EBOLA CASE TESTS NEGATIVE

A Law student at Ahmadu Bell University, who was reportedly showed symptoms of the deadly Ebola virus yesterday, has tested negative to the virus.

According to Premium Times, authorities of A.B.U and the Kaduna State Government had sent the patient’s blood to Lagos for testing after he reportedly manifested some symptoms associated with Ebola while on admission at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital.

The state Commissioner For Health, Thot Dogo, had told Premium Times on tuesday night that the result of the test was being expected on Wednesday. But EbolaAlert, an authoritative evidence-driven group of volunteer professionals working on Ebola Virus Disease interventions in the country, told Premium Times laboratory test has shown the student does not have the virus.

An official of the group, Mr. Ladi, said the test concluded earlier on Tuesday night came out negative.

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EBOLA OUTBREAK: WILLIAM POOLEY, A BRITISH NURSE CURED WITH ZMAPP IN THE UK

A British Nurse, Will Pooley who worked in Sierra Leone has been cured of the deadly Ebola virus in the UK and already discharged.

According to Telegraph, Pooley, 29, a volunteer nurse who caught the virus in Sierra Leone, said he had ‘no regrets’ that his work had exposed him to danger, but said he will not be returning to outbreak-stricken country in the near future, because his passport has been destroyed.

Pooley was flown back to the UK on August 24th and treated with the experimental Zmapp at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

However, according to Dr. John, one of the doctors that attended to him said at a press conference at the hospital today that he looked visibly thinner and now clear of the disease.

He added: "The virus is clear from the body and there is no risk to the wider community in any way."

Source: telegraph.co.uk

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APPLE PLANS TO CONTINUE PUSHING FOR BAN ON SAMSUNG PRODUCTS

Now it seems that Apple vs Samsung battle for sometime won’t be ending for the foreseeable future.

According to MacWorld , Apple plans to appeal a judge’s order this week that denied its request for a sales ban on the Samsung products that have previously been found to infringe on Apple’s patents.

Apple is asking the Court to prevent Samsung from selling several products, including the Galaxy S III smartphone, in the United States.

In May, a jury found that Samsung infringed three of Apples patents and awarded the iPhone maker just $119.6 million of the $2 billion that Apple had asked for in damages.

Federal judge Lucy Koh rejected the argument that Apple would be irreparably harmed if Samsung were allowed to continue selling the infringing phones in the U.S. In her ruling, Koh wrote that Apple was not able to show that they would “suffer irreparable damage to its reputation as an innovator.”

On Friday, Apple said it would appeal Koh’s order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in Washington, D.C.

Source: Android Authority

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RIP, MSN MESSENGER: MICROSOFT KILLS OLD-SCHOOL CHAT APP

In news that is sure to make you feel old, Microsoft is officially killing its 15-year-old instant messaging program. Windows Live Messenger— formerly MSN Messenger— will soon go the way of Friendster, Google Reader and Facebook Poke.

Microsoft first announced it would be closing Windows Live and pushing users over to Skype in 2012, but the service had stuck around in China — until now. Microsoft began alerting Chinese users of Windows Live's imminent shutdown Thursday, and told users they would need to switch to Skype by October 31. The tech giant also promised free Skype credit to those who did, according to the BBC . MSN Messenger first launched in 1999 as Microsoft's answer to the then-popular AOL Instant Messenger. Like so many messaging apps before and since, it started off simple, with basic IM functionality — but soon expanded with new features such as photo messaging, video chatting, games and much-loved emoji.

Following news of the closure, MSN Messenger alums took to Twitter to eulogize the instant messaging client that once ruled dial-up Internet.

MSN Messenger is shutting down at the end of October. Oh the memories

— l3ahpar (@l3ahpar) August 29, 2014 My favourite thing to do on MSN Messenger was appear offline until my crush logged on and then SERENDIPITOUSLY appear online a minute later.

— Rega Jha (@RegaJha) August 29, 2014 I had no idea MSN Messenger was ceasing to exist now, RIP to thegood old days!

— Paul Smith (@PaulSmithhhhh) August 29, 2014 RIP MSN messenger

— paatt (@PattTanner10) August 29, 2014 Though the messaging platform currently has relatively few users, it's official closure marks the end of an era, of sorts, for many millennials who came of age while chatting on MSN.

The BBC's Dave Lee waxed nostalgic in his obituary to MSN Messenger:

It touched the lives of millions of teenagers who, in an age before real social networking, were just getting accustomed to what it was like to live on the internet.

MSN Messenger heralded a new era: a time when chatting up a classmate no longer meant the terrifying prospect of actually having to say something to them.

It meant no longer would young teens have to endure the torture of ringing the landline number of their newest crush — knowing there was a high probability that dad would pick up.

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Source: HERE

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