Potential Zika case under probe in Florida

MIAMI • Florida health officials on Tuesday said they are investigating a potential case of Zika infection that was not contracted by someone travelling to a region affected by the mosquito-borne virus.

Until now, there has been no sign that mosquitoes carrying Zika have arrived in the continental United States, but officials have warned that the possibility was looming.

The US territory of Puerto Rico has seen a spike in cases in recent months. It was not immediately clear whether the Florida case involved mosquito bites or sexual contact, since both are known routes of transmission.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Surgery postponed for ailing Noriega

PANAMA CITY • Scheduled surgery on imprisoned former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to remove a benign brain tumour has been postponed because of the 82-year-old's frail health, his doctor said on Tuesday.

The operation was to have taken place today on the tumour, which has slowly grown since being detected years ago.

But the former general's personal doctor, Dr Eduardo Reyes, said that, after being admitted to hospital, Noriega was found to be suffering blood pressure "too high for surgery".

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

LA beaches shut after sewage spills from pipe

LOS ANGELES • Several beaches in the Los Angeles area were shut down on Tuesday after nearly 9.5 million litres of sewage spilled out from a ruptured line, officials said.

The spill - described as one of the biggest in recent memory - began on Monday afternoon, when the top of a sewer pipe collapsed, sending debris into the pipe and causing overflow.

Repair crews managed to stop the leak by evening but the pipe split again on Tuesday, sending sewage into the Los Angeles River, which carried it into the Pacific.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE