AFP, TOKYOSmokers can effectively turn back time in their lungs by kicking the habit, with healthy cells emerging to replace some of their tobacco-damaged and cancer-prone ones, a study shows. “But within a few years of quitting, many of the cells lining their airways showed no evidence of damage from tobacco,” he said. Up to 40 percent of the total lung cells in former smokers were healthy, four times more than in their still-smoking counterparts. Campbell said the damaged cells had not been able to “magically repair themselves.”“Rather, they are replaced by healthy cells that have escaped the damage from cigarette smoke,” he said. “Once the person quits smoking, the cells gradually proliferate from this safe harbor to replace the damaged cells,” Campbell said.

“Either I could starve or I’ll get infected and die,” said the factory worker, who is two months pregnant. China has imposed transport bans in and around Wuhan — effectively trapping tens of millions of people, including thousands of foreigners — in a bid to contain the virus. Aphinya arrived in China two weeks ago to marry her Chinese husband in Xiantao — about 200km from Wuhan. Aphinya said she is worried for the health of her unborn baby, and desperate for the Thai government to get her out. “Other countries are calling back their citizens... when are we going back?” said Khin Thiri Thant Zin, a hospital intern in Wuhan.

Trump lashed out at Bolton on Twitter, saying his former aide was coming out with potentially damaging allegations in an upcoming “nasty & untrue book,” because he was fired from his White House position. The fight over Bolton’s testimony intensified as the senators who would decide Trump’s fate began directly questioning Democratic prosecutors and White House lawyers. They were to return yesterday to pose further questions to the White House defense lawyers and the seven House prosecutors seeking Trump’s removal from office for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. “This case is overwhelmingly clear without John Bolton, but if you have any question about it you can erase all doubt.”White House deputy counsel Patrick Philbin said that the House had not subpoenaed Bolton and his appearance would present “grave security issues.”“He has all of the nation’s secrets,” Philbin said. The White House would seek to prevent Bolton’s testimony and the matter would end up in a lengthy legal battle in the courts, he added.

As theft is an indictable offense, the police had no choice but to bring in the suspect and hand the case over to prosecutors. They took her to the police station and processed her, and — because a trowel could be considered a lethal weapon — referred the case to prosecutors. Again, the police were obliged to detain her and refer the case to prosecutors, and again the case failed to reach a guilty verdict. Furthermore, many criminal cases that are prosecuted today are over defamation, and there have long been calls for this offense to be decriminalized. There is no reason that defamation cannot be dealt with through compensation in a civil case.

AFP, SYDNEYAustralia is bracing for a heat wave to sweep across the nation’s fire-ravaged southeast in the coming days, with the forecast stoking fears the soaring temperatures could inflame bushfires. Temperatures yesterday reached more than 40°C in South Australia state, where dangerous fire weather warnings were issued in several bushfire-prone areas. The heat wave is then expected to hit Melbourne and Canberra today, before parts of Sydney reach 45°C at the weekend. Storms are forecast to follow the heat wave, bringing rain that could help dampen fires, but also the potential for wild weather, including flash flooding. Extreme weather has battered parts of Australia, bringing giant hail, floods and landslides.

The GuardianThe last surviving ace who fought in the Battle of Britain has died aged 101. There are now just two surviving Battle of Britain pilots left. Farnes, a Hurricane pilot, had been the last surviving ace, an accolade given to those who brought down at least five enemy planes. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal, the highest honor in the Royal Air Force for non-officers. 501 Squadron in the regular air force, with whom he fought in the Battle of France in May 1940.

The tunnel featured an extensive rail cart system, forced air ventilation, high voltage electrical cables and panels, an elevator at the tunnel entrance and a drainage system. The next longest tunnel in the US was discovered in San Diego in 2014. The newly discovered tunnel is about 1.68m tall and 0.61m wide, officials said. US authorities said they are confident that the tunnel exited in San Diego at one time, based on its trajectory. An incomplete offshoot of the tunnel that extended 1,090m suggested to authorities that smugglers had plugged an initial exit point and were building another.

Reuters, TOKYOFormer Japanese emperor Akihito, who stepped down last year, has recovered after a brief loss of consciousness on Wednesday, a palace spokesman said. Akihito stepped down from the Chrysanthemum Throne in April last year, following three decades as emperor, Japan’s first abdication in about 200 years, and his son, Naruhito, became emperor. “Rhere were no abnormalities detected, especially nothing suggesting anything like a stroke,” a Japanese Imperial Household Agency spokesman said, adding that Akihito’s condition would continue to be monitored. Akihito, who now holds the formal title of emperor emeritus, had breakfast as normal yesterday, Kyodo news agency reported. Concern over his health was a top trending topic on Twitter in Japan.

AFP, MOSCOWRussian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday pardoned an Israeli-US woman jailed for drug trafficking, on the eve of a visit to Moscow by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I thank my friend President Putin for having pardoned Naama Issahar,” Netanyahu said in a statement before leaving Washington. “Guided by the principles of humanity, I pardon Naama Issachar,” Putin said in the decree cited by the Kremlin. The Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported that the young woman was to return to Israel yesterday in Netanyahu’s plane. Putin said he had assured her mother that all would go well, while Yaffa Issachar said Putin had promised to send her daughter home.

The GuardianThe Asia-Pacific region has been dominated by repression, but also resistance, as the two largest nations on Earth sought to impose a “bleak domineering vision” for the region, Amnesty International’s annual human rights review for last year says. The review, released yesterday, paints a bleak picture for minorities across the region, with Uighurs in China interned in “re-education camps,” and a siege imposed across Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state. In Taiwan, the fight for equality for LGBT people resulted in same-sex marriage becoming legal in March last year. In Sri Lanka, lawyers and activists successfully prevented the resumption of executions. “The wheels of justice slowly began to turn for the Rohingya, as the International Criminal Court [ICC] authorized an investigation into crimes committed by the Myanmar military in 2017,” Amnesty wrote.

Yesterday’s figures covered the previous 24 hours and represented an increase of 38 deaths and 1,737 cases to 7,711. Of the new deaths, 37 were in the epicenter of the outbreak in Hubei Province and one was in Sichuan Province. A group of 210 Japanese evacuees from Wuhan landed at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on a second government chartered flight, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Three of the 206 Japanese who returned on Wednesday tested positive for the coronavirus, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in parliament. The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare earlier confirmed a second suspected human transmission in a tour bus guide who had escorted a group of travelers from Wuhan.

It surpassed the previous record single-day drop of 660.72 points on Oct. 11, 2018, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Turnover in the Taiwan Stock Exchange swelled to NT$275.415 billion (US$9.1 billion), a 76 percent increase on the average turnover of NT$155.6 billion in the past 30 days. The company has about 13,500 employees in Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus outbreak, and it announced that it would delay its production activities in China until Feb. 10. However, a few companies benefited from the virus outbreak, mainly suppliers of masks. Any rebound of the TAIEX would depend on whether the spread of the virus could be controlled, along with the performance of US equity markets, Hua Nan Securities said.

AP, DETROIT, MichiganRecord sales of electric vehicles in the fourth quarter helped to push Tesla Inc to its second-straight quarterly profit, giving bullish investors optimism that sustained profits are ahead. Tesla expects to “comfortably” exceed production of 500,000 vehicles this year at its factories in Fremont and Shanghai, with Model Y production in Shanghai to start next year. However, the company still has a long way to go before its vehicles can travel without humans taking the wheel. Tesla expects net profits going forward, with some possible exceptions at times surrounding the launch of new products. Tesla continued to build its cash balance during the fourth quarter, reporting US$6.27 billion available, up from US$5.34 billion at the end of the third quarter.

The survey, conducted from Monday to Thursday last week, found that all six subindices pointed upward, with the gauge on stock investment adding 2.5 points to 68.1. The university attributed the pickup to the signing of a “phase 1” trade deal between the US and China, and positive guidance from major tech firms about their business outlook. China accounts for 40 percent of Taiwanese exports and the coronavirus outbreak could dampen demand for electronic components after disrupting production and shipping, Wu said. The subindex on household income added 0.7 points to 97.5, while the subindex on durable goods consumption rose 0.6 points to 112.25. The survey, which polled 2,766 adults by telephone, has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

By Shen Pei-yao, Kuo An-chia and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writerUnions and gender equality groups yesterday rallied in front of Taipei City Hall to protest the appointment of Chen Hsin-yu (陳信瑜) as director of the Taipei Department of Labor, citing concern about Chen’s purported stance against homosexuality. Chen, a former Kaohsiung City councilor for the Democratic Progressive Party, is scheduled to take office today. Appointing this kind of person to a position related to gender equality affairs is troubling, Lu said. In 2014, Ko said that city residents should choose their department of labor director, and Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) was appointed to the position after 19,956 residents voted. Chen’s anti-homosexual stance could affect the municipality’s ability to uphold the law, Fight for Gender Equality secretary-general Chou Yu-hsuan (周于萱) said.