IN BRIEF (Page 12)

France

Second HIV-positive man in remission

A second person is in sustained remission from HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, after ceasing treatment and is likely cured, researchers were set to announce on Tuesday. Ten years after the first confirmed case of an HIV-infected person being rid of the deadly disease, a man known only as the "London Patient" has shown no sign of the virus for nearly 19 months, they reported in the journal Nature. Both patients had received bone marrow transplants to treat blood cancers, receiving stem cells from donors with a rare genetic mutation that prevents HIV from taking hold. "By achieving remission in a second patient using a similar approach, we have shown that the Berlin Patient was not an anomaly," said lead author Ravindra Gupta, referring to the first known functional cure.

Canada

Another minister quits in fresh blow to Trudeau

In a serious blow to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a second member of his Cabinet resigned on Monday, saying she had lost confidence in how the government had dealt with an escalating political scandal. The departure of recently appointed Treasury Board President Jane Philpott, who was in overall charge of government spending, deprives Trudeau of another powerful female minister just months ahead of an election that polls show he could lose. Philpott expressed unhappiness about the government's response to allegations that officials inappropriately pressured former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould last year to help major construction company SNC-Lavalin Group Inc avoid a corruption trial.

United States

Anonymous winner claims $1.5b jackpot

The mystery surrounding the $1.5 billion Mega Millions jackpot from October is partly over as lottery officials announced on Monday that a South Carolina resident had stepped forward to claim the prize but elected to remain anonymous. A lottery commission statement said the person submitting the claim for what was the second-largest lottery in US history has chosen the cash option, a one-time payment of nearly $878 million. That's the largest jackpot payout to a single winner in US history, it said. The winning ticket was sold between Oct 20 and Oct 23 at a convenience store in Simpsonville, a suburb of the South Carolina city of Greenville. The winner had until April 19 to claim the prize.

AFP - Xinhua - AP

(China Daily 03/06/2019 page12)