Worldwide Demonstrations Follow Charlie Hebdo Massacre

Thousands of demonstrators gathered Wednesday at the Place de la Republique after the shooting deaths at a French satirical newspaper in Paris.

Many who poured into Place de la Republique in eastern Paris near the site of the noontime attack waved papers, pencils and pens.

The messages of condolence, outrage and defiance over the Paris terrorist attack on a newspaper office spread quickly around the world Wednesday with thousands of people taking to the streets to protest the killings and using the slogan "Je Suis Charlie" on social media.

Demonstrations, including some silent vigils, took place in some U.S. cities, at London's Trafalgar Square, in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, in Madrid, Brussels, Nice and elsewhere.

"No matter what a journalist or magazine has to say, even if it is not what the majority of people think, they still have the right to say it without feeling in danger, which is the case today," said Alice Blanc, a London student who is originally from Paris and was among those in the London crowd, estimated in the hundreds.

In San Francisco, hundreds of people held pens, tiny French flags and signs that read "I am Charlie" up in the air outside the French Consulate in the financial district. A handful of the participants lit candles that spell out "Je Suis Charlie," while others placed pens and pencils and bouquets of white carnations and red roses by the consulate's door.

Julia Olson, of Nimes, France, said she wanted to be in the company of other people after hearing the news.

"There is nothing we can do but be together," the 26-year-old said.

Several hundred people gathered in Manhattan's Union Square amid chants of "We are not afraid" and holding signs in English and French saying "We are Charlie."

In Seattle, about 100 people assembled near the French Consulate office with many holding signs in support of the victims.

Source: www.abcnews.go.com

Terror attack in Paris, France. 12 life's have been claimed so far.

Source: An eye witness 

Live: Deadly shooting at Paris HQ of French satirical magazine

Shots have been fired at French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in the heart of Paris Wednesday, with Paris officials reporting at least 10 fatalities. Witnesses at the scene reported seeing multiple masked gunmen. Follow FRANCE 24’s live blog.

Watch Live: http://www.france24.com/en/20150107-live-blog-gun-shots-french-paris-charlie-hebdo-satirical-magazine/#

source: http://www.france24.com/

Shanghai to cancel massive gatherings 'if necessary'

SHANGHAI - Shanghai decided on Tuesday to tighten controls on large gatherings after the stampede that killed 36 people during the New Year's Eve celebrations.

Mass activities in Shanghai will face stricter registration procedures, and will be canceled if they violate safety rules, said Zhou Bo, vice mayor of Shanghai, at a national conference on workplace safety.

The stampede occurred on Shanghai's historic riverfront walk, the Bund, where tens of thousands of people gathered to ring in the New Year.

The tragedy in one of China's wealthiest and most modern cities, has cast a shadow over urban management and emergency response in the crowded cities.

Zhou said the Shanghai making changes to emergency procedures and rearranging scheduled gatherings.

On Tuesday, Shanghai Mayor Yang Xiong said the city should draw a "bloody lesson" from the stampede and reflect deeply.

Source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/

Tears as Shanghai laments stampede victims

Flowers are placed on Tuesday at the site where 36 people were killed in a stampede during a New Year's Eve celebration on the Bund in Shanghai.

SHANGHAI - The city of Shanghai was steeped in sorrow on Tuesday as citizens and victims' families visited the site of the New Year's Eve stampede to mark the seventh-day commemoration of the tragedy.

Braving freezing temperatures and drizzle, visitors laid flowers and winter clothes on the Chen Yi Square near the Bund area, where the stampede killed 36 people and injured 49 others.

There were tearful moments for relatives of the victims, some of whom, overwhelmed by sorrow, fainted at the site and were attended to by medical staff on stand-by.

Many held portraits showing the young faces of the deceased.

"We felt so sad that these young lives vanished in such a happy moment," said a tourist from Anhui Province, who placed flowers at the site.

The crush happened at about 11:35 p.m. on Dec. 31 on the Bund, a riverbank walk where tens of thousands of revelers gathered to ring in the New Year against the backdrop of illuminated skyscrapers along the Huangpu River.

Tuesday marked the seventh-day commemoration of the tragedy. In China, the seventh day after any death marks the height of mourning as people believe that souls come back to the earthly world to pay their last visit to family on that day.

The site was cordoned off on Tuesday, and visitors were ushered in by government workers. Some police officers patrolling the site said they had joined in the rescue mission that night and were here to lament the death.

The tragedy in one of China's wealthiest and most modern cities has raised concerns over urban management and emergency response in China's crowded cities.

Shanghai Mayor Yang Xiong said Tuesday at a conference of the city's legislature that Shanghai must draw a lesson from the New Year's Eve stampede and reflect deeply on the incident.

"The lesson was extremely profound and extremely painful," he said, adding that the cause of the accident is yet to be confirmed.

"We hope such disasters will never happen again," said a Shanghai citizen at the site.

Source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/

Asthma on the rise over past decade

A specially designed truck sprays mist to reduce dust in the air in Zhengzhou, Henan province, on Tuesday. The vehicle is said to be able to alleviate smog effectively.

Asthma cases have risen dramatically in China over the past decade along with ever deteriorating air pollution, according to leading respiratory specialists.

Nationwide, the prevalence of asthma stands at 1 to 2 percent, while in some cities it can reach more than 10 percent, a leading pulmonary physician said.

Lin Jiangtao, director of the China Asthma Alliance and a physician at China-Japan Friendship Hospital, was citing results from the first nationwide epidemiology survey on asthma, which he led.

The potentially fatal disease has risen quickly across the nation, with Shanghai recording the fastest increase in prevalence of 190 percent over the past decade.

"Given that air pollution is a major risk factor in asthma, the disease is still rising constantly," Lin warned.

In a widely reported case, Chinese mother Shang Yujun moved her son to three different Chinese cites to escape air pollution before finally settling in London to control his asthma.

Lin suggested that patients with the disease limit outdoor activities and heavy exercise on days with high concentrations of pollutants, as such conditions can prompt asthma attacks.

Asthma is the leading cause of hospitalization among children in China and imposes a significant burden on their families. Patients with the condition have increased rates of work absenteeism.

The Asia Asthma Development Board said China has the world’s highest mortality rate from asthma, with 36.7 out of 100,000 patients failing to survive.

Wang Chen, a leading respiratory disease expert and an academic at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said, "Various respiratory diseases have become a public health challenge in China."

But he said public awareness remains poor in a country where only 34 percent of the cases are under control.

Of the more than 30 million patients in China, about 80 percent fail to effectively control the disease and less than 5 percent have received standard treatment, Lin said.

A 36-year-old patient surnamed Wang, from Hebei province, said he used to be hospitalized three times a year in Beijing for serious asthma attacks. He was diagnosed with the disease after having it for more than a year.

"I frequently felt out of breath and had to take a rest when climbing up several steps," he said.

Drug therapy and a surgical procedure called bronchial thermoplasty helped put him back on his feet after he had to use a wheelchair.

Wang Chen called for standardized treatment and improved access to drug treatment for asthma patients.

Source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/