Paperjam.lu

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, praised Chinese efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak, but declared “a public health emergency of international concern”. He said in Geneva on Thursday: “The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries.” Library picture: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaking in Brussels, 12 September 2019. Photo: Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock.com 

Coronavirus officially global health emergency

The World Health Organization has declared the Wuhan coronavirus (officially called 2019-nCoV) a public health emergency, per the BBC, Deutsche Welle and South China Morning Post. There are nearly 10,000 confirmed cases, leading to 213 deaths, in China. The WHO said there have been 98 cases in 18 other countries (including Finland, France and Germany) but no deaths outside China. A public health emergency helps bring financial and political resources to contain the outbreak. The WHO said it is not meant to introduce trade or travel restrictions. Meanwhile, the US State Department told Americans not to travel to China, per CNBC and CNN. The American Airlines pilots union has sued the carrier, asking a judge to halt all flights to China, per the Los Angeles Times and Reuters. The UK is evacuating a small number of British and EU expats, per The Guardian and Sky News.

Coronavirus positive for US economy, says Wilbur Ross

Wilbur Ross, the US commerce secretary and a former ArcelorMittal board member, said the coronavirus epidemic could aid the US manufacturing sector. Ross stated: “I think it will help to accelerate the return of jobs to North America.” Sources: Associated Press, BBC and CNBC.

Senate witness battle

Democrats in the US senate made a case for calling witnesses to testify in Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. Republicans expressed reticence. Senators will vote on the measure tomorrow. Sources: CNN, The Guardian and NPR.

Canberra state of emergency

Authorities in the Australian Capital Territory declared a state of emergency as bushfires potentially threaten Canberra’s southern suburbs. Sources: ABC News, BBC, Reuters, Sydney Morning Herald and Yahoo News Australia.

Amazon shares up 10% after earnings jump

Amazon’s net income during the fourth quarter of 2019 rose 10% (year-on-year) to $3.3bn, with revenue up 21% (year-on-year). The e-commerce and cloud computing giant said its investment in one-day delivery in the US was paying off. It forecast a healthy first quarter. Amazon shares gained more than 10% in afterhours trading. Sources: Ars Technica, CNBC, Financial Times, Marketwatch and Seattle Times.

IBM getting new CEO for cloud era

Ginni Rometty, IBM’s CEO since 2012, said she would step down. Arvind Krishna, currently IBM’s senior vice president for cloud and cognitive software, will take over on 6 April. IBM shares gained 4% in afterhours trading. Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, Financial Times, Marketwatch and Techcrunch.

EU film merchandise fine

Margrethe Vestager, the European competition commissioner, fined NBCUniversal €14.3m for illegally restricting the sale of merchandise linked to “Minions” and other films within the EU single market. Sources: Associated Press, Financial Times and Reuters.

Vaping crackdown costs Juul investor

Altria, the tobacco giant that owns Marlboro, said the value of its 35% stake in Juul, an e-cigarette maker, dropped by two-thirds, from $12.8bn to $4.2bn, due to increased regulatory and legal pressures. Sources: BBC, Bloomberg and CNBC.

Agenda

Friday 31 January, 7:30pm-9pm: Practice speaking Japanese at this series hosted by the Japanese Ladies Association of Luxembourg (first session is free). Before Tuesday 4 February, 2pm: Win tickets for screening of of the film “Deux” (“Two Of Us”) at Ciné Utopia. Tuesday 4 February, 4pm: The 1st Ukraine-Luxembourg Industry Forum 2020 in Kirchberg. Thursday 6-Friday 7 February: Conference on “the legal implications of climate change for financial services”. Thursday 6 February, 7pm-9pm: The British Ladies Club of Luxembourg starts its monthly cocktail meetup at Hitch, near the Glacis, which is open to non-members.

Here are 5 science & technology stories you may have missed

Networks: A tech CEO reckons 5G will kill wifi in a decade, per IEEE Spectrum. Computer programming: Differences between Chinese and English helped the tech outfit Baidu develop an AI system that ‘understands’ both languages better, per MIT Technology Review. The internet: There is no point in cleaning out your personal email inbox, according to this Mashable column. Environment: Researchers found that when Germany started shutting off nuclear power, more coal was used, leading to a 5% increase in CO2 emissions and increased particulate pollution that “likely killed an additional 1,100 people per year”, per Wired. Medicine: Researchers have test-grown snake venom glands in the lab, which could eventually be used to produce snakebite antidotes ‎more efficiently, per Smithsonian magazine.

Coming of age

GQ has the story of three teenage boys who survived 51 days adrift in the South Pacific (published in May 2011, but I just recently read this). 

What goes down, comes up again

V-neck sweaters are back, says GQ. 

Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Aaron Grunwald