Reuters, CAPE TOWNExperienced center Jamie Roberts on Thursday said that he has joined South African side the Stormers to win Super Rugby, but added he has not given up hope of a return to the Wales national team in the coming months. Roberts, 33, was unveiled by the Cape Town-based team and revealed the challenge of playing in Super Rugby was one he felt he could not turn down at this stage of his career. “I want to win Super Rugby, that’s why I have come here,” Roberts told reporters. I am hugely proud to have played for Wales the times I have, as players you have to aim for international honors,” he said. The Stormers open their Super Rugby campaign next Saturday at home to the Wellington Hurricanes.

Dubbed “Lunar New Year mobile phone syndrome,” the condition commonly occurs during or after the holiday because of people staring at their screen for hours, China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital ophthalmologist Chen Ying-shan (陳瑩山) said. Excessive use of technological devices can lead to dry eyes, as well as put a strain on the ciliary muscles, which help the eyes automatically adjust to short and long-range vision,Chen said. Chen cited as an example the case of a 46-year-old woman, who complained of worsening eye problems, such as dry eyes and impaired vision after the holiday, especially when she tried to look at things right after using her phone. This is a case of pseudomyopia, meaning the extended periods of eye use during the holiday caused a refractive error that damaged the patient’s vision, Chen said. People should eat more green and yellow vegetables during the holiday, and take a 10-minute break after every 30 minutes of phone use, with the total amount of time not exceeding one hour to protect their eyes, he said.

Reuters, MELBOURNE and SYDNEYThe death toll from Australia’s bushfires yesterday rose to 33 after police found a body in a home completely destroyed by fire in New South Wales south coast. The body has not yet been formally identified but it is believed to be of the 59-year-old male occupant, state police said in a statement. Firefighters in Australia held a minute’s silence and flags on official buildings in New South Wales (NSW) state, where the plane crashed, were flown at half-mast as a mark of respect on yesterday. ATSB investigators yesterday had to be escorted to the 1km-long crash site by firefighters and police were still in the process of securing the area, Hood said. Little of the plane was intact and potential hazards included aviation fuel and unexploded pressurized canisters, he added.

AFP, WUHAN, ChinaChinese authorities yesterday expanded their mammoth quarantine effort to 13 cities and a staggering 41 million people, as nervous residents were checked for fevers and the death toll from the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) climbed to 26. The WHO said China faced a national emergency, but stopped short of making a declaration that would have prompted greater global cooperation, including possible trade and travel restrictions. Normally bustling streets, malls and other public spaces were eerily quiet in Wuhan on the second day of its lockdown. It consisted of prefabricated structures and Xinhua said Wuhan was building the new facility based on the same model. China Central Television reported that 40 medical doctors from the military were being brought in to help with intensive care at Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital.

The Guardian, BRUSSELSA somber European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel yesterday formally signed the withdrawal agreement as Brussels prepares for the UK’s exit from the EU in seven days’ time. In photographs issued of the signing ceremony in the EU’s Europa building yesterday morning, European Chief Negotiator for the UK Exiting the EU Michel Barnier can be seen standing behind the two presidents. The withdrawal agreement on Thursday received royal assent from Queen Elizabeth II. Under the agreement, the UK is to leave the EU at midnight central European time on Friday next week. Johnson has said he will not take the option available to him in the withdrawal agreement of extending this transition period.

AP, BERLINResearchers say they have mimicked the voice of a 3,000-year-old Egyptian mummy by recreating much of its vocal tract using medical scanners, 3D printing and an electronic larynx. The model alone also is not enough to synthesize whole words or sentences, the authors said, noting that this would require the ability to calculate the audio output from the vocal tract as its shape is being changed. “But this is something that is being worked on, so it will be possible one day,” Howard said. Rudolf Hagen, an ear, nose and throat expert at the University Hospital in Wuerzburg, Germany, who specializes in thorax reconstruction and was not involved in the study, expressed skepticism. Even cutting-edge medicine struggles to give living people without a thorax a “normal” voice, he said.

AP, MADRIDAtletico Madrid’s disappointing season on Thursday hit a new low with a 2-1 loss to third-tier Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa in the Copa del Rey. Atletico relinquished a late lead and then conceded early in extra-time to be eliminated in the round-of-32. The hosts equalized with an 83rd-minute volley by Julen Castaneda after Atletico goalkeeper Antonio Adan could not fully clear a cross into the penalty area. CD Leganes advanced with a 1-0 win over third-tier CD Ebro, while Real Betis Balompie lost to Rayo Vallecano de Madrid 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw. Betis equalized late in regulation and Vallecano forced the shoot-out late in extra-time.

By Sean Lin / Staff reporterThe Control Yuan yesterday censured the Ministry of Health and Welfare over five cases of death or bodily harm involving caregivers and families with mentally ill members since April 7, 2018. Such tragedies have revealed loopholes in the government’s “social security net,” as some mentally ill people or their families have not received timely assistance, leaving them desperate, Yin and Wang said. There is a lack of coordination between local health personnel and social workers, which makes it difficult for them to fully understand the needs of families with mentally ill members, they added. Families with mentally ill members are more susceptible to suicide, domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault or drug addictions, which would make their cases more complicated, Yin and Wang said. The ministry should remind local health authorities that families with mentally ill members should be visited regularly to help learn about their needs and evaluate any potential risks, which would help reduce the burden on caregivers, they said.

By Yang Hsin-hui, Liu Pei-fen and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writerThe Taipei City Animal Protection Office has released a list of legitimate pet hotels in Taipei for people looking for a place to leave their pets during the Lunar New Year holiday. Prices at pet hotels are similar to regular hotels, with charges depending on the type of services needed and rates going up during holidays, a pet hotel named HAPet Co said. The office said that its list has been reviewed by a panel composed of animal protection groups, experts, store representatives and office personnel. The pet hotels were graded based on how pets were treated, the facilities and store policy regarding consumer rights, the office said. The panel had selected a total of 83 stores offering pet hotel services in the municipality, the office said.

By Sean Lin / Staff reporterTour groups, but not individual travelers, are banned from visiting China as of today, the Tourism Bureau said yesterday as the government stepped up its efforts to prevent the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). The announcement came as the Central Epidemic Command Center confirmed two more cases of 2019-nCoV, bringing the nation’s total to three. The center said free antiviral drugs would be available to anyone clinically confirmed to have flu-like symptoms, regardless of nationality, and. The bureau’s ban follows China banning Chinese tour groups from leaving the nation, Tourism Bureau Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said. The bureau backed regulating tour groups headed for China, as Chinese travel agencies might not be able to receive them, and it would be dangerous for them to visit China, Chou said.

BloombergUS Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said new rules are coming soon that will put more limits on US companies supplying China’s telecommunications leader Huawei Technologies Co (華為). However, some US suppliers worked around the rules to continue sending some crucial electronic components to Huawei. A Commerce Department spokesman said the department will make an announcement when it is ready. Ross said the ultimate US objective is not to cut Huawei off from all US supplies, but instead to protect national security. Some US companies have kept selling to Huawei by citing rules that limit the US government’s ability to restrict exports.

Staff writer, with CNAA New Taipei City man on Thursday won NT$2 million (US$66,653) in a scratch-card lottery after touching a gold brick on display at the city’s Gold Museum earlier in the day, the seller of the winning ticket said. The man, who appeared to be in his 50s, has frequently bought tickets at the Yawu lottery store in Ruifang District (瑞芳) and bought several on Thursday after visiting the museum, one of the store clerks said. “I touched the huge gold brick at the Gold Museum, and after being blessed, I had a hunch that I would win a prize if I bought a lottery ticket,” the clerk quoted the man as saying. The 220.30kg brick is one of the big attractions at the museum, which focuses on Taiwan’s gold-mining history. She bought tickets on Monday at a lottery store in New Taipei City’s Lujhou District (蘆洲) after she received her year-end bonus.

“Weighing oneself daily could prevent a person from gaining weight during the holiday,” she said. A US study published last year showed that most people gained between 0.4kg and 1.5kg during the holiday season — from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day — and holiday weight was the major contributor to annual excess weight gain, Lo said. Participants who were asked to weigh themselves daily maintained their weight after the holiday season, while some who were overweight even lost weight, but most of those who did not weigh themselves gained weight, Lo said. The study suggests that increasing individual awareness of body weight could be an effective way to prevent holiday weight gain, encouraging people to watch their food intake more carefully or exercise a little more, she said. The HPA recommends adults exercise for at least 30 minutes every day, or take at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity per week.

About 20 percent of 66 central banks surveyed by the BIS said they were likely to issue a digital currency within the next six years, up from around 10 percent a year earlier. In all, 80 percent of central banks said they were looking at the technology, up from seven in 10 surveyed last year. Five central banks, including those in Japan, Britain and the eurozone, said on Tuesday they were joining forces to look at the case for issuing CBDCs. Of the central banks surveyed by the BIS, around a third were from advanced economies and the remainder from emerging markets. The Hong Kong and Thai central banks said on Wednesday they had moved closer to using CBDCs to make cross-border payments more efficient.

Fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev needed a medical time-out for a nosebleed before beating Spanish qualifier Pedro Martinez 7-5, 6-1, 6-3 and advancing to the third round. In the next match on Margaret Court Arena, 2016 Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber beat Priscilla Hon 6-3, 6-2 to complete a day-session schedule that started with sixth-seeded Belinda Bencic’s 7-5, 7-5 win over 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. On Rod Laver Arena, second-seeded Karolina Pliskova, a semi-finalist in Melbourne last year, advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Laura Siegemund following two-time major winner Garbine Muguruza’s 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Ajla Tomljanovic. We just played one game on the, let’s say, outdoor court,” Medvedev said. On the men’s side, Ernests Gulbis held off Aljaz Bedene 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.