Latest Humanitarian crises News

A policeman uses a digital thermometer to take a driver's temperature at a checkpoint at a highway toll gate in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. China closed off a city of more than 11 million people Thursday in an unprecedented effort to try to contain a deadly new viral illness that has sickened hundreds and spread to other cities and countries amid the Lunar New Year travel rush. (Chinatopix via AP)

WHO says China virus 'too early' for emergency declaration

Jan. 23, 2020 2:19 PM EST

LONDON (AP) — A viral illness in China that has sickened hundreds of people and prompted Chinese authorities to effectively shut down three cities is not yet a global health emergency, the World Health Organization said Thursday. The U.N. health agency issued its evaluation after Chinese authorities moved...

Passengers wear protective face masks at the departure hall of the high speed train station in Hong Kong, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. China closed off a city of more than 11 million people Thursday, halting transportation and warning against public gatherings, to try to stop the spread of a deadly new virus that has sickened hundreds and spread to other cities and countries in the Lunar New Year travel rush. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

China locking down cities with 18 million to stop virus

Jan. 23, 2020 2:11 PM EST

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities Thursday moved to lock down at least three cities with a combined population of more than 18 million in an unprecedented effort to contain the deadly new virus that has sickened hundreds of people and spread to other parts of the world during the busy Lunar New Year...

A militia member uses a digital thermometer to take a driver's temperature at a checkpoint at a highway toll gate in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. China closed off a city of more than 11 million people Thursday in an unprecedented effort to try to contain a deadly new viral illness that has sickened hundreds and spread to other cities and countries amid the Lunar New Year travel rush. (Chinatopix via AP)

The Latest: WHO says China virus not global health emergency

Jan. 23, 2020 1:28 PM EST

LONDON (AP) — The Latest on the outbreak of the new coronavirus in China (all times local): 6:20 p.m. The World Health Organization says a viral illness in China that has sickened hundreds of people is not yet a global health emergency. The decision came after Chinese authorities moved to lock down three...

In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020, a Samburu boy uses a wooden stick to try to swat a swarm of desert locusts filling the air, as he herds his camel near the village of Sissia, in Samburu county, Kenya. The most serious outbreak of desert locusts in 25 years is spreading across East Africa and posing an unprecedented threat to food security in some of the world's most vulnerable countries, authorities say, with unusual climate conditions partly to blame. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi)

AP Explains: How climate change feeds Africa locust invasion

Jan. 23, 2020 12:12 PM EST

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Locusts by the millions are nibbling their way across a large part of Africa in the worst outbreak some places have seen in 70 years. Is this another effect of a changing climate? Yes, researchers say. An unprecedented food security crisis may be the result. The locusts "reproduce...

Workers spray disinfectant at a train station in Wuhan in southern China's Hubei province, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. Chinese health authorities urged people in the city of Wuhan to avoid crowds and public gatherings, after warning on Wednesday that a new viral illness that has infected hundreds and caused at least nine deaths could spread further. (Chinatopix via AP)

Chinese city stops outbound flights, trains to fight virus

Jan. 22, 2020 6:56 PM EST

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese city of more than 11 million people planned to shut down outbound flights and trains Thursday as the world's most populous country battled the spread of a new virus that has sickened hundreds of people and killed 17, state media reported. Everyone in the city of Wuhan was to be...

Medical workers use an infrared thermometer to check travelers at a train station in Nanchang in southern China's Jiangxi Province, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. Chinese health authorities urged people in the city of Wuhan to avoid crowds and public gatherings, after warning that a new viral illness that has infected more than 400 people and killed at least nine could spread further. (Chinatopix via AP)

What's new in the China virus outbreak

Jan. 22, 2020 5:21 PM EST

Hundreds of cases of a new viral respiratory illness have been confirmed in China and elsewhere since an outbreak began last month in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Scientists have identified the illness as a new kind of coronavirus. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some of which cause the common cold....

Prisoner advocates hold signs supporting inmate rights at a protest outside the Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. The protesters called on the federal government to investigate Mississippi's prison system for possible civil rights violations. They say five deaths in recent days highlights deliberate violations of inmates' constitutional rights. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Another inmate dies in a troubled Mississippi prison

Jan. 22, 2020 4:47 PM EST

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Another Mississippi inmate died in a troubled state prison Wednesday, and state corrections officials said his death appeared to be a suicide by hanging. At least 10 inmates have died in the state's prisons since late December, most of them in outbursts of violence. Eight of the men...

Passengers wearing masks walk by as a quarantine officer, center, monitors a thermography during a quarantine inspection at Kansai international airport in Osaka, western Japan, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. Chinese health authorities urged people in the city of Wuhan to avoid crowds and public gatherings after warning on Wednesday that a new viral illness infecting hundreds of people in the country. Japan, South Korea, the United States and Taiwan have all reported one case each. All of the illnesses were of people from Wuhan or who recently had traveled there. (Kota Endo/Kyodo News via AP)

China virus outbreak may wallop economy, financial markets

Jan. 22, 2020 1:05 PM EST

BANGKOK (AP) — News that a new virus that has afflicted hundreds of people in central China can spread between humans has rattled financial markets and raised concern it might wallop the economy just as it might be regaining momentum. Health authorities across Asia have been stepping up surveillance and...

A thermal camera monitor shows the body temperature of passengers arriving from overseas at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. Heightened precautions were being taken in China and elsewhere Tuesday as governments strove to control the outbreak of a novel coronavirus that threatens to grow during the Lunar New Year travel rush. (Suh Myung-geon/Yonhap via AP)

Virus prompts temperature checks, extra cleaning at airports

Jan. 21, 2020 8:00 PM EST

BEIJING (AP) — Many countries are checking the temperatures of arriving airline passengers and adopting precautionary quarantine procedures in response to a new virus that has sickened nearly 300 people and killed six in China. India, Nigeria, Japan and the United States are some of the countries where...

Children eat food distributed during a visit organized by The World Food Program (WFP) at Koge school, in the conflict-affected remote town of Kauda, Nuba Mountains, Sudan, Jan. 9, 2020. Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, accompanied by United Nations officials, embarked on a peace mission Thursday to Kauda, a rebel stronghold, in a major step toward government efforts to end the country’s long-running civil conflicts. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

EU sets up $998 million budget for humanitarian aid

Jan. 20, 2020 7:13 AM EST

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has set up a 900 million euro ($998 million) budget to help countries hit by humanitarian crises, with Africa getting the largest share of the money. The EU Commission, the bloc's executive arm, said Monday that people in more than 80 countries will benefit from the money...

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