'Billionaire currency speculator George Soros says he plans to spend $1 billion to found a global university to combat climate change and burgeoning nationalism in the world, two things he claims in a recent speech are “threatening the survival of our civilization.”

The preeminent funder of the activist left in the United States and a major contributor to the Democratic Party, the 89-year-old, Hungarian-born financier announced his ambitious new plan Jan. 23 at the annual globalist gathering of elite business leaders known as the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Soros is an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump.

According to Soros’s philanthropic organization, Open Society Foundations (OSF), the project, called the Open Society University Network (OSUN), will “integrate teaching and research across higher education institutions worldwide,” while offering courses and joint degree programs and bringing students and faculty from different countries together by way of in-person and online discussions.

Soros is hoping that others will also donate to the endeavor.'

https://www.theepochtimes.com/new-soros-funded-university-to-combat-climate-change-and-nationalism_3224703.html

'NASUULU CONSERVANCY, Kenya—As locusts by the billions—yes, billions—descend on parts of Kenya in the worst outbreak in 70 years, small planes are flying low over affected areas to spray pesticides in what experts call the only effective way to control the insects.

It’s challenging work, especially in remote areas where mobile phone signals are absent and ground crews can’t quickly communicate coordinates to flight teams.

The ground crews are in “the most woeful terrains,” Marcus Dunn, a pilot and the director at Farmland Aviation, said Feb. 1. “If there is no network, then the fellow on a boda boda (motorcycle), he has to rush off now and go and get a network.”

Just five planes are currently spraying as Kenyan and other authorities try to stop the locusts from spreading to neighboring Uganda and South Sudan. The United Nations has said $76 million is needed immediately to widen such efforts across East Africa.

A fast response is crucial. Experts warn that if left unchecked, the number of locusts could grow by 500 times by June, when drier weather will help bring the outbreak under control.

The finger-length locusts swept into Kenya from Somalia and Ethiopia after unusually heavy rains in recent months, decimating crops in some areas and threatening millions of vulnerable people with a hunger crisis.'

https://www.theepochtimes.com/spray-planes-combat-huge-locust-swarms-in-east-africa_3224795.html

'The ninth U.S. case of coronavirus was confirmed on Sunday evening by local health officials in California’s Santa Clara County—the second case reported in the Bay Area since the outbreak began.

The Santa Clara County Public Health Department said an adult female tested positive for coronavirus after traveling to virus-hit Wuhan, China, in recent days, reported ABC7 and other local news outlets. She had arrived in the United States on Jan. 23.

Health officials said the woman, who was not identified, has stayed at home since she arrived in the country and only went out to seek medical care twice. She was regularly monitored and not sick enough to be hospitalized, according to the agency.

The woman’s coronavirus case was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the health department said.

“I understand that people are concerned, but based on what we know today, the risk to general public remains low,” said Dr. Sara Cody, who is the health officer for Santa Clara County, in news conference. “A second case is not unexpected. With our large population and the amount of travel to China for both personal and business reasons, we will likely see more cases, including close contacts to our cases.”

Sunday’s confirmed case is the second case in Santa Clara and the fourth in California. The first case, a man who had also traveled to Wuhan and tested positive, was announced last Friday.

The man returned Jan. 24 to Mineta San Jose International Airport before exhibiting symptoms after getting home, according to Cody. The man never got sick enough to be hospitalized and had contact with few people, she said.

Wuhan in Hubei Province is the epicenter of the virus outbreak, but a number of new cases have apparently been reported in other parts of China, prompting officials to place lockdowns on cities outside of Hubei. Several cases of person-to-person transmission of the virus have been confirmed in Shenzhen, located near Hong Kong, over the weekend.

Also over the weekend, another U.S. case of coronavirus was confirmed in Boston, Massachusetts, said local health officials. They confirmed that he’s a student at the Boston campus of the University of Massachusetts and has been under self-isolation at his off-campus home since Jan. 29, after complaining of flu-like symptoms.

That patient had also recently traveled to Wuhan, said authorities. “We are grateful that this young man is recovering and sought medical attention immediately,’’ Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel said in the statement.

So far, cases have been reported in California, Illinois, Washington state, Arizona, and Massachusetts.

The second case’s announcement came shortly the Department of Homeland Security issued rules to implement new travel restrictions starting at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday.'

https://www.theepochtimes.com/ninth-us-case-of-coronavirus-confirmed-in-bay-area-california_3224768.html