Virgin Atlantic said Wednesday that all passengers and crew on a charter flight from Barbados to London were briefly put into quarantine because of widespread illness on board.
The airline said the 448 passengers, who were returning to Britain after travelling on the MSC Preziosa cruise ship in the Caribbean, and crew were taken to a reception centre near London Gatwick Airport for medical assessment after the plane landed.
It said "a number of customers" had "reported feeling unwell onboard" and that it is conducting a full investigation as to what happened.
A South East Coast Ambulance Service spokesman said it treated about 30 people and that three had been taken to a hospital for further checks.
The service said it responded with specialists and its Hazardous Area Response Team because passengers and crew were feeling "unwell and nauseous." A spokesman for Swiss-based cruise line MSC Cruises, which operates the ship, said the company is investigating and seeking reports from ...

Passengers, crew on Virgin flight quarantined in UK

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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is stirring outrage after sharing a video on Twitter that shows one man urinating on another.
Bolsonaro made the post Tuesday night criticizing Carnival. Many conservatives in Latin America's largest nation detest Carnival celebrations, seeing them as heathen.
The far-right president himself was one of the main targets of revelers' mockery during Carnival.
Bolsonaro's post included video of a street party in which a man touches himself sexually and then lowers his head while another man urinates on him.
Bolsonaro wrote, "I feel uncomfortable showing it, but we have to expose the truth" about Carnival.
By Wednesday morning, the tweet had garnered more than 35,000 comments. Many sharply criticized the decision to post the video.

Brazil's Bolsonaro posts obscene Carnival video, stirs anger

US businesses added a solid 183,000 jobs in February, a private survey found, a sign that companies continued hiring even as economic growth likely slowed.
Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that last month's job gains were down from the 300,000 added in January, a figure that was revised up sharply from 213,000.
Hiring occurred across all major industries tracked by ADP, including professional and business services, which includes high-paying fields such as accounting and engineering, and which gained 49,000 jobs. Education and health care added 37,000.
The ADP covers only private businesses and often diverges from official figures, which also include government hiring.
The government is scheduled to release its employment report Friday, which analysts forecast will show a gain of 183,000 jobs, according to data provider FactSet.

Survey: US businesses added a solid 183,000 jobs last month

China said Wednesday that it is blocking some imports of the agricultural product canola from Canada because of fears of insect infestation.
The move, which comes amid heightened tensions over Canada's arrest of a Chinese tech executive, is seen by some as a new tactic to seek leverage over Ottawa.
China suspended canola imports from a Canadian company "in accordance with laws and regulations and international practice," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a daily news briefing.
He cited "harmful organisms" that he did not identify further, and said China's government "needs to protect the health and safety of its own people."
"I can tell you responsibly that the Chinese government's decision is definitely well-founded," Lu said.
"Upon verification, China customs has recently detected dangerous pests in canola imported from Canada many times."
One of Canada's largest grain processors, Richardson International Ltd, said Tuesday that China had revoked its permit to export canola .

China says pest concerns justify ban on Canadian canola

The intense search for two European climbers who went missing over a week ago in bad weather on the world's ninth-highest mountain in Pakistan was called off on Wednesday, after a Spanish-Pakistani search team lost hope of finding any trace of the pair.
Karrar Haidri, the secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, told The Associated Press that it was not an easy but "a very painful decision" to take after the rescuers tried everything they could  including flying out drones  to find the two.
Earlier in the day, hopes had started fading for finding Italian Daniele Nardi and Briton Tom Ballard, missing for over a week on Nanga Parbat, known as "Killer Mountain" because of its dangerous conditions.
Nardi, 42, from near Rome, had attempted the Nanga Parbat summit in winter several times in the past. Ballard, 30, also a skilled climber, in 2015 became the first person to solo climb all six major north faces of the Alps in one winter.
The two set out on Feb 22, making it to the fourth base .

Pakistan: Search for 2 missing European climbers called off

President Vladimir Putin has urged Russia's top domestic security agency to tighten its protection of information related to new weapons.
In a speech Wednesday before top officials of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the top KGB 0successor agency, Putin said foreign spies have intensified their efforts to get access to Russia's secrets.
Putin, a KGB veteran who headed the FSB in the 1990s before ascending to the presidency, said foreign spy agencies have intensified their operations in Russia, and are looking for political, economic and scientific secrets.
The Russian leader noted that the FSB last year exposed 129 foreign intelligence officers and 465 of their agents.
He said the FSB should pay particular attention to protecting information related to the development, test and production of new Russian weapons.

Putin urges stronger protection of Russian military secrets

Iran's president said on Wednesday that there was no chance of negotiations or compromise with the United States, allegedly because Washington is seeking to topple the government in Tehran.
In a televised speech, Hassan Rouhani said "the United States says Iran should change" back to the way the country was before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when it was ruled by a US-supported monarchy.
"We say we won't go back," Rouhani said at a gathering in the northern city of Lahijan.
He said the differences between Iran and the US are so wide, they are "neither negotiable nor can there be a compromise."
The Trump administration has taken a hard line on Iran but insists the US is not trying to overthrow the government.
However, tensions between the two countries have been heightened after Washington withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal last year and re-imposed sanctions on Iran, which have particularly hurt Iran's vital oil industry.
Rouhani said his country is in an economic war because of these 

Iran says no chance of negotiations, compromise with US

Militants in Afghanistan set off a suicide blast on Wednesday morning and stormed a construction company near the airport in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, killing at least 17 people, officials said.
The dawn assault triggered an hours-long gunbattle with local guards, drawing in US forces to assist the Afghan troops in the shootout.
Among those killed were 16 employees of the Afghan construction company EBE and a military intelligence officer, said Attahullah Khogyani, the provincial governor's spokesman.
He added that nine other people were wounded in the attack, which lasted more than five hours.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but both the Taliban and the Islamic State group are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in Nangarhar.
The two groups have been carrying out near-daily attacks across Afghanistan in recent years, mainly targeting the government and Afghan security forces and causing staggering casualties, including among .

Afghan official: Suicide blast near airport in east kills 17

Police in Scotland say suspicious packages were found Wednesday at a university and a bank building, a day after three London transit hubs received letter bombs.
Police Scotland said officers are examining packages discovered at the Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters in Edinburgh and at the University of Glasgow.
The university said several buildings on its campus, including a mailroom, had been evacuated "as a precautionary measure" and would remain closed all day.
The force said that so far there is nothing to link the incidents.
It's unclear if the packages are connected to incidents Tuesday in which three small explosive devices in plastic mailing bags arrived at offices for two London airports and a train station.
One of the envelopes, sent to Heathrow Airport, partly caught fire but no one was injured.
Counter-terrorism detectives are leading the investigation into the London letter bombs.
The envelopes received in London appeared to carry Irish stamps, and Commander Clarke ...

UK police probe suspicious packages at university, bank

Militants in Afghanistan set off a suicide blast on Wednesday morning and stormed a construction company near the airport in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, killing at least 16 people, officials said.
The dawn assault triggered an hours-long gunbattle with local guards, drawing in U.S. forces to assist the Afghan troops in the shootout.  Along with the 16 killed, nine people were also wounded in the attack, according to Attahullah Khogyani, the provincial governor's spokesman.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but both the Taliban and the Islamic State group are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in Nangarhar.
The two groups have been carrying out near-daily attacks across Afghanistan in recent years, mainly targeting the government and Afghan security forces and causing staggering casualties, including among civilians.
The attacks have continued despite stepped-up US efforts to find a negotiated resolution of the 17-year war, ...

Afghan official: Suicide blast near airport in east kills 16

China's Communist Party chief for Tibet says the Dalai Lama hasn't done a "single good thing" for the region.
Wu Yingjie said Wednesday during a meeting of China's ceremonial legislature that Tibetans are "extremely grateful for the prosperity that the Communist Party has brought them."
Zhaxi Jiangcun, a Tibetan grass-roots delegate whom Wu called upon to speak, said as far as he knows "there is no such thing" as adoration for the Dalai Lama among Tibetans.
March 10 is the 60th anniversary of an abortive 1959 uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet. The event prompted the Dalai Lama, the region's traditional Buddhist leader, to flee to India.
China claims Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries and regards the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist.

Chinese official insists no love for Dalai Lama in Tibet

A Pakistani mountaineering official said another day of searching for a pair of European climbers who went missing on the world's ninth-highest mountain produced no results on Wednesday as the risk of avalanches made the mission increasingly dangerous.
Hopes faded further for finding Italian Daniele Nardi and Briton Tom Ballard, missing for over a week on Nanga Parbat, known as "Killer Mountain," a Pakistani official said, appealing for prayers for the two.
Nardi, 42, from near Rome, has attempted the Nanga Parbat summit in winter several times in the past.
Ballard, 30, also a skilled climber, in 2015 became the first person to solo climb all six major north faces of the Alps in one winter.
The two set out on February 22, making it to the fourth base camp the following day. The pair last made contact on February 24 from an elevation of some 6,300 meters (nearly 20,700 feet) on Nanga Parbat.
The search team, headed by Spaniard Alex Txikon and experienced Pakistani mountaineer Ali ...

Search finds no sign of Italian, Briton on Pakistan summit

Northern Ireland's top civil servant is warning that a disorderly UK exit from the European Union will lead to a sharp increase in unemployment and an exodus of businesses from the region.
David Sterling says "there is currently no mitigation available for the severe consequences of a no-deal outcome." Britain and the EU have struck a divorce deal, but the UK Parliament has rejected it, largely over concerns about the Ireland-Northern Ireland border.
Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, and businesses fear a "no-deal" exit would severely disrupt trade. It could also destabilize Northern Ireland's peace process, which relies on an open border.
In a letter to Northern Ireland political leaders, Sterling says a "no-deal" Brexit "could well have a profound and long-lasting impact on society.

Official warns of 'no-deal' Brexit risk to Northern Ireland

Bali's airport will close for 24 hours, the internet will be turned off and streets emptied as the predominantly Hindu island in Indonesia observes its New Year with an annual day of silence.
"Nyepi" begins at 6 AM Thursday, clearing beaches and all public spaces of people except for special patrols to ensure silence is observed. For the second year, phone companies will turn off the mobile internet on the island, home to more than 4 million people.
Balinese will stay indoors, covering windows and keeping lights off for the day of reflection that is the most sacred in Balinese Hinduism.
"A day of silence to mark Saka (Balinese calendar) New Year for us Balinese Hindus is an opportunity to restart life with a pure heart," said Wayan Gota, a hotel manager in Kuta, one of the island's tourist hotspots.
"For me, through the ritual of observing thoughts while meditating on Nyepi, in essence I get the opportunity to evaluate my achievements for the past year and rearrange the plan of life ..

No flights or internet during Bali's sacred Day of Silence

The father of a British teenager who ran away to join the Islamic State group in Syria said his daughter's citizenship should not be revoked and that she should return to the UK and be punished if it was determined she had committed a crime.
Shamima Begum fled east London with two friends to travel to Syria to marry IS fighters in 2015 at a time when the group's online recruitment program lured many impressionable young people.
Begum, now 19, resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria and told reporters recently that she wants to come home. But her apparent lack of remorse has triggered criticism in Britain and the family has expressed its own shock at her lack of repentance.
She married a Dutch man who wants to take her to the Netherlands with their newborn son.
British Home Secretary Sajid Javid has revoked Begum's citizenship  despite saying he wouldn't make a decision that would render a person stateless. Her family has insisted she isn't a dual citizen. The case is pending in the ...

Father of UK teen who joined IS says don't scrap citizenship

An Afghan provincial spokesman says the death toll from a militant attack on a construction company near a main airport in the country's east has risen to 16.
Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the governor in eastern Nangarhar province, says that along with the 16 killed, nine other people were wounded when the militants launched a suicide bombing and stormed a construction company near the airport outside Jalalabad, the provincial capital.
He says the attack started around 5 a.m. and lasted until 10:30 a.m.
Khogyani says there were five attackers, two of whom detonated their suicide vests while three others were shot and killed by the security forces.  He says the fighting has ended but a clear-up operation is still underway.
An Afghan official says militants set off a suicide blast and stormed a construction company near the main airport in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, killing at least 4 people.
The province's police chief, Gen. Ghulam Sanayee Stanikzai, ...

Death toll in Afghanistan attack rises to 16

An Afghan official says militants set off a suicide blast and stormed a construction company near the main airport in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, killing at least 4 people.
The province's police chief, Gen. Ghulam Sanayee Stanikzai, says five people were also wounded when the bomber, who was on foot, detonated his explosives at the gate of the company on Wednesday morning.
Stanikzai says several other attackers then stormed inside the company where a gunbattle is underway now. He says the casualty toll could rise further.
The police chief also says that U.S. forces have arrived at the scene.
No one has claimed immediately the attack but both the Taliban and the Islamic State group are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in Nangarhar province.

Afghan official: Suicide blast near airport in east kills 4

California authorities warn the latest wet winter storm could trigger mudslides in wildfire burn areas where thousands of residents are under evacuation orders.
Forecasters say up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain is expected along the Central Coast, and the heaviest downpours are likely in the early hours of Wednesday.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office ordered 3,000 residents to evacuate hillside neighborhoods scarred by fires  including parts of Montecito hit by a disastrous debris flow just over a year ago.
The National Weather Service has issued a flash-flood watch for all burn areas in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
Heavy snow and high winds are predicted for the Sierra Nevada.
The wettest winter in years has nearly eliminated drought conditions in the state.

Evacuations in California take place as storm approaches

Kings of Europe no more. Real Madrid's Champions League reign is over.
More than 1,000 days since winning the first of three consecutive European titles, Real Madrid unprecedented era of dominance ended with a whimper when the Spanish giant was stunned 4-1 by Ajax at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Tuesday.
The humiliating loss meant Madrid was eliminated 5-3 on aggregate in the round of 16, leaving the club looking at a trophy-less season in its first campaign since mega-star Cristiano Ronaldo left for Juventus.
"We were not going to win the Champions League forever," said Real Madrid defender Nacho Fernandez, who was sent off in the final minutes of the game.
"Reigns eventually come to an end. Something like this was going to happen sooner or later."
In the end, the club renowned for assembling its team with expensive "Galactico" signings was undone by a club centered around a core of homegrown young talents.
Ajax, which is enjoying a resurgence thanks to young stars like Frenkie de ...

Real Madrid's European reign ends with shock loss to Ajax

FIFA's cash reserves soared to a record USD 2.74 billion and revenue climbed to USD 6.4 billion in the four-year period covering the 2018 World Cup, The Associated Press has learned.
The robust financial results suggest FIFA has weathered the deepest crisis in its history, which erupted in 2015 when a United States-led criminal investigation led to the arrests and later convictions of high-ranking officials on corruption charges.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter also was deposed as FIFA president in a financial misconduct case that left the governing body's reputation in tatters and caused a backlash from sponsors.
After being elected as Blatter's successor in 2016, Gianni Infantino said that "FIFA was clinically dead as an organization."
Although Infantino's leadership has come under criticism from within European governing body UEFA, Infantino will be able to show the budget is in a healthy state, and he is due to be re-elected unopposed in June for a four-year term.
The 2015-18 finances 

FIFA reserves soar to USD 2.7B, revenue at USD 6.4B

China says it will bar government authorities from demanding overseas companies hand over technology secrets in exchange for market share.
Vice Chairman of the Cabinet's economic planning agency Ning Jizhe told reporters on Wednesday that the provision will be contained in a foreign investment law.
Accusations that China demands the disclosure of technology secrets are a key stumbling point in the U.S.-China trade dispute that has seen a major disruption in commerce between the world's two largest economies.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday set this year's growth target for the country at 6 to 6.5 percent. Such a growth rate, if achieved, would be among the world's strongest. Yet it would be slightly below last year's 6.6 per cent growth in China and would mark a new three-decade low.

AP

AP

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