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Pair of Giant Pandas from China Arrive Safely at San Diego Zoo

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agencym, giant panda Yun Chuan eats at the Bifengxia Panda Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Yanan, southwest China's Sichuan Province on April 18, 2024. (Xue Chen/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agencym, giant panda Yun Chuan eats at the Bifengxia Panda Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Yanan, southwest China's Sichuan Province on April 18, 2024. (Xue Chen/Xinhua via AP)
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Pair of Giant Pandas from China Arrive Safely at San Diego Zoo

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agencym, giant panda Yun Chuan eats at the Bifengxia Panda Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Yanan, southwest China's Sichuan Province on April 18, 2024. (Xue Chen/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agencym, giant panda Yun Chuan eats at the Bifengxia Panda Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Yanan, southwest China's Sichuan Province on April 18, 2024. (Xue Chen/Xinhua via AP)

Two giant pandas from China have safely arrived in Southern California, where they will be cared for as part of an ongoing conservation partnership, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said Friday.
The pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, will spend the next several weeks acclimating to their new home in a private habitat at the San Diego Zoo and will not be viewable by the public, the alliance said in a brief statement.
“They are being monitored closely by expert wildlife health and care teams who will determine when the pair are ready to meet the public,” The Associated Press quoted the alliance as saying.
A farewell ceremony was held earlier this week before the pandas departed from China.
Yun Chuan, a mild-mannered male who’s nearly 5 years old, has connections to California, the wildlife alliance said previously. His mother, Zhen Zhen, was born at the San Diego Zoo in 2007 to parents Bai Yun and Gao Gao.
Xin Bao is a nearly 4-year-old female described as “a gentle and witty introvert with a sweet round face and big ears.”
The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has a nearly 30-year partnership with leading conservation institutions in China focused on protecting and recovering giant pandas and the bamboo forests they depend on.

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WHO Calls for Immediate Action as Report Shows 10% Rise in Child TB Infections in European Region 

This 2006 electron microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which causes the disease tuberculosis. (Janice Carr/CDC via AP) 
This 2006 electron microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which causes the disease tuberculosis. (Janice Carr/CDC via AP) 
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WHO Calls for Immediate Action as Report Shows 10% Rise in Child TB Infections in European Region 

This 2006 electron microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which causes the disease tuberculosis. (Janice Carr/CDC via AP) 
This 2006 electron microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which causes the disease tuberculosis. (Janice Carr/CDC via AP) 

Tuberculosis (TB) infections among children in the European region rose 10% in 2023, indicating ongoing transmission and the need for immediate public health measures to control the spread, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

WHO's European region, which comprises 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia, reported more than 7,500 cases among children under 15 years of age in 2023, an increase of over 650 cases compared to 2022.

"The worrying rise in children with TB serves as a reminder that progress against this preventable and curable disease remains fragile," said Hans Henri Kluge, WHO's Regional Director for Europe.

Askar Yedilbayev, regional TB advisor for WHO's European region, said in an interview that a rise in overall cases might indicate improved diagnoses. However, it could also result from increased cross-border movement due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the two countries with the highest disease burden in the region.

Children under 15 years of age made up 4.3% of all TB cases in the European Union, a joint report by the WHO and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control showed.

This shows an increase in cases in this age group for the third consecutive year, which Yedilbayev said was a "worrisome scenario".

WHO has previously warned that funding cuts from global donors will undo progress in controlling TB infections across low- and middle-income countries. These cuts can hurt TB programs in non-EU countries, fueling a rise of hard-to-treat strains, the agency said.

Several local, on-ground workforces have been hurt from the funding cuts, and the supply of diagnostics and treatments remains at risk, said Yedilbayev.

TB, among the top 10 causes of death worldwide, is a potentially fatal bacterial infection that mainly affects the lungs and spreads through coughing or sneezing.