Asia Today: India's daily new virus cases on declining trend
(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)NEW DELHI โ India reported another 86,052 coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, a declining trend with recoveries exceeding new cases this week. India's newly reported infections have remained below 90,000 for five straight days after hitting a record 97,894 on Sept. 16. The total number of tests have crossed 67 million so far in the country with nearly 1.4 billion people. Antigen tests look for virus proteins while RT-PCR tests look for genetic material from the virus. Hong Kong reported seven new cases on Friday for a total of 5,056, including 104 deaths, according to Chinaโs National Health Commission.
Elizabeth Banks to drive 'Magic School Bus' onto big screens
NEW YORK The Magic School Bus has traveled everywhere from Pluto to inside the human body. Scholastic Entertainment said Thursday that it will make a feature-length, live-action hybrid film based on the animated TV show that ran from 1994 to 1997. Elizabeth Banks will play the manic science teacher Ms. Frizzle. The Magic School Bus, adapted from a series of books written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen, centers on a group of school children who board a yellow school bus for field trips to such unlikely places as outer space or the human digestive system. Lilly Tomlin supplied the voice for Ms. Frizzle in the original cartoon series and Kate McKinnon voiced her sister in a recent Netflix reboot, The Magic School Bus Rides Again.The film version will be led by Scholastic Entertainment, Brownstone Productions, Marc Platt Productions and Universal Pictures.