February 29, 2020
French officials have cancelled all gatherings of more than 5,000 people within confined spaces amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The cancellations include the Paris Half Marathon, due to take place on Sunday, and the Annecy Carnival planned for next week.
It comes as France has identified new cases of the virus bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 73.
59 of those people remain in hospital, 12 have recovered and two have died.
February 29, 2020
Coronavirus mobile apps tracking the disease are ranking as six of the top 15 downloads in South Korea.
CNN’s reporting that developers have seen a surge in downloads since launching the products in early February.
The apps source their data from public government information.
There are thought to be more than 3,100 cases of coronavirus reported in South Korea.
February 29, 2020
A third case of coronavirus has been confirmed in Mexico.
The ministry of health confirmed the case on Saturday morning.
It means there’s now one case in the city of Culiacan and two in Mexico City.
February 29, 2020
A Simpsons short is to be played out ahead of the new Pixar release according to reports.
The Verge says a tweet from The Simpsons’ official account says an animation called “Playdate with Destiny” will be shown before Pixar’s new movie, Onward.
The image with the tweet shows Simpson’s baby Maggie, but it’s not clear whether any other Simpsons characters will appear.
It’s prompted some commentators to question the pairing, with others putting it down to the $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox, which means The Simpsons is now owned by Disney.
February 29, 2020
Organisers of San Francisco’s biggest gaming event, the Game Developers Conference, have postponed it amid coronavirus fears.
The event has been running each year since 1988 and was due to be held from March 16 to 20.
In recent weeks companies such as AMazon, Sont and Facebook had pulled out of the event amid health and safety concerns.
Exhibition company Informa says they intend to refund those who had bought tickets.
February 29, 2020
A single goal from Jordan Ayew’s seen Crystal Palace beat rivals Brighton 1-0.
The goal came just 20 minutes into the Premier League match at the Amex Stadium.
February 29, 2020
New York is to become the third US state to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags.
A ban on all single-use plastic bags will come into force on Sunday and apply to all retailers paying state taxes.
Those ignoring the ban could face fines of up to $500.
Takeaways, prescription drugs and newspaper subscriptions will still use plastic and are exempt from the new rules.
Government figures show New York uses 23 billion plastic bags every year.
February 29, 2020
Bosses at Boeing have defended the amount of testing carried out prior to the launch of the Starliner space capsule in December.
The uncrewed capsule failed to reach the International Space Station during a test flight at the end of last year.
Nasa has questioned the ground tests carried out prior to launch.
Now vice president and program manager of Boeing’s Starliner program John Mulholland has spoken out about the preparations.
He’s told reporters an extensive amount for testing was carried out, but rather than running a test of the entire mission, they had broken the flight test into ‘chunks’ which were tested separately.
He said these tests were deemed to be “adequate and comprehensive at the time”
Nasa’s independent review team highlighted two major software glitches that contributed to the failed mission - an incorrect timer, and a problem with the spacecraft’s thrusters.
February 29, 2020
Actresses have stormed out of France’s most prestigious film awards ceremony after US director Roman Polanski was named best director.
The Polish-French director, who was convicted of the statutory rape of a 13-year-old in the 1970s, fled the US following his conviction in 1977.
The 86-year-old has since faced streams of allegations of sexual assault, including rape. He denies the latest allegations against him.
His latest film ‘An Officer and a Spy’ was nominated for 12 gongs at this year’s Cesars, sparking fierce debate.
February 29, 2020
The US has signed a peace agreement with Taliban militants which could put an end to America’s longest war.
Under the agreement, Washington would withdraw forces to 8,600 from 13,000 over the next three to four months.
The remainder would leave in 14 months - seeing an end to 18 years of bloodshed.
The complete withdrawal of troops is dependent on the Taliban meeting commitments to prevent terrorism.
