Eight killed in truck blast in Syria's Afrin: Turkish defense ministry

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A bomb detonated on a truck containing diesel-filled barrels and killed eight civilians and wounded seven more, including children, in northwestern Syria’s Idlib region on Monday, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.

The ministry said on its Twitter account that the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which Turkey designates as a terrorist group, was responsible for the attack in the city of Afrin, a region under the control of Turkey-backed rebels.

Nuts ‘N More Recalls Plain Peanut Spread Due To Listeria Concerns

Nuts ‘N More LLC is recalling 4143 jars of plain Peanut Spread citing the potential to be contaminated with Listeria species, the US Food and Drug Administration announced.

The recall involves 16 ounce plastic jar peanut spread with lot number LOT PB91. The products have the expiration date of March 4, 2021. The spread was distributed to locations in various states in the U.S., as well as Canada and the UK.

The company initiated the recall after finding potential Listeria species in a finished product in routine testing, performed by a 3rd party laboratory. However, there were no reports of illness related to the affected products till date.

Nuts ‘N More has ceased the production and distribution of the product, and has joined with the State of Rhode Island to continue their investigation.

The company and the health regulator urged the consumers to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Recently, Lipari Foods, LLC extended its recall for various wedge deli sandwiches for fear of potential contamination with Listeria Monocytogenes, a deadly bacteria.

Earlier, egg supplier Almark Foods recalled its bulk, fresh hard-boiled eggs from its Gainesville facility for its association with a Listeria illness outbreak. Many companies, who got their eggs from Almark Foods, also have called back their egg products for Listeria concerns.

CORRECTED-Alibaba offers $2.86 bln in loans to firms hit by coronavirus outbreak

(Corrects name of Ant Financial unit to MYBank, not WeBank)

SHANGHAI, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Alibaba Group Holdings said on Monday its affiliate Ant Financial’s MYBank unit would offer 20 billion yuan ($2.86 billion) in loans to companies in China in light of the coronavirus outbreak, with preferential terms for Hubei firms.

Alibaba made the announcement in a statement posted on its official Weibo account. The loans will carry low interest rates, it added. ($1 = 6.9809 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Edmund Blair)

Biohaven’s investigational anxiety drug fails in trial

Shares of Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. BHVN, -5.18% tumbled 16% in premarket trading on Monday after the company said its experimental treatment for generalized anxiety disorder failed in a clinical trial. Patients taking the investigational drug, troriluzole, did not have a different result than those using the placebo. Biohaven said it will continue to test troriluzole as a treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder, Alzheimer’s disease and spinocerebellar ataxia, a rare brain disease. Biohaven’s stock is up 19% over the past year. The S&P 500 SPX, -0.54% has gained about 22%.

World’s Largest Fireworks Launched In Colorado

Steamboat Fireworks has set a Guinness world record by launching a 62-inch, 2,797-pound firework a mile into the air.

The massive fireworks were launched at the end of the Steamboat Springs Winter Carnival Saturday night. It marked a thrilling conclusion of the Night Extravaganza on Howelson Hill, the signature event of the Steamboat Springs Winter Carnival.

The pyrotechnic milestone eclipsed the firework record of 2,397 pounds set in the United Arab Emirates in December, 2018.

Project Manager Tim Borden of Steamboat Fireworks dedicated his group’s achievement to the City of Steamboat Springs, especially its public safety organizations – firefighters, police, emergency medical technicians and the Routt County Search & Rescue team.

“We had to work closely with these people to ensure that our firework posed absolutely no danger to people, wildlife or structures in the area,” he said in a press release.

Borden also thanked his team members Ed MacArthur, Jim Widmann and Eric Krug. They analyzed the data compiled from the group’s 2019 failure, he said, referring to a launch last year that resulted in a premature explosion of the firework within underground. The team made a couple of significant changes to the structure of the shell and the lift inside the mortar.

The shell was more than seven inches thick, and the mortar used to launch the shell was 26 feet long. A representative of the Guinness Book of World Records presented Steamboat Fireworks with an official certification after witnessing the event.

McKesson Launches Split-off Of Investment In Change Healthcare – Quick Facts

McKesson Corp. (MCK) announced the commencement of an exchange offer for the split-off of its subsidiary, PF2 SpinCo, Inc., which will hold all of the company’s interest in Change Healthcare. Immediately following the completion of the exchange offer, SpinCo will merge with and into Change, following which Change will continue as the surviving company.

In the merger, each SpinCo common share will be converted into one share of Change. Change will issue 175,995,192 common shares in the merger. Upon completion, approximately 51 percent of the outstanding shares of Change common stock are expected to be held by pre-merger holders of McKesson common stock, and approximately 49 percent of the outstanding shares of Change common stock are expected to be held by pre-merger holders of Change common stock.

Brian Tyler, CEO, McKesson, said: “We expect this exchange offer will continue to deliver value to McKesson shareholders by reducing our number of outstanding shares in a tax-efficient manner. This transaction better positions McKesson to focus on our core business.”