Author: Starvision News Desk

Wellington, Oct 3 (IANS) The New Zealand government is helping the aerospace industry take off with further infrastructure support for the Aerospace Centre at Kaitorete in Canterbury of the South Island, Infrastructure Minister Megan Woods said on Tuesday.The government will provide a NZ$5.4 million ($3.21 million) grant to the joint venture to fund a sealed runway and hangar facilities to encourage investment, growth and continued research and development in New Zealand’s aerospace industry, Xinhua news agency quoted Woods as saying.”New Zealand has natural advantages in aerospace which can help secure its position as a leading place to safely test, trial…

Cairo, Oct 3 (IANS) Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has announced his re-election bid for a third term in office in the upcoming polls scheduled for December.”Just as I responded to the call of the Egyptians before, today I respond to their call once again, and I announce that I’m determined to nominate myself for a new presidential term,” Sisi, who assumed power in 2014 in the aftermath of the 2013 coup, announced on Monday.”I call on Egyptians to participate in the elections to choose the country’s president,” Xinhua news agency quoted the 58-year-old leader as saying.The election will be held…

New York, Oct 3 (IANS) Women who struggle with getting enough sleep may be at greater risk of developing hypertension, or high blood pressure, a new study has shown.Women who sleep less than seven to eight hours a night are at a significantly higher risk of developing hypertension, revealed the findings published in the journal Hypertension. In addition, the team from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the US also found that women with sleeping difficulties had higher BMIs, lower physical activity, and poorer diets, on average and were more likely to smoke and drink alcohol and have previously gone through…

New York, Oct 3 (IANS) Altered measles and mumps viruses could be used as a platform to create a trivalent Covid-19 vaccine that triggers immunity to multiple variant strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, new research in animals suggests.The study builds upon previous studies that involved inserting a highly stable segment of the coronavirus spike protein into the measles vaccine or mumps vaccine. In a paper, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists reported the new MMS vaccine candidate — for Measles, Mumps and SARS-CoV-2 — delivered via the nose that provides broad and long-lasting protection…

London, Oct 3 (IANS) UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s announcement of a delay to the phasing out of petrol-driven vehicles has been criticised by a committee of lawmakers in the House of Commons, who called the move “disappointing”.Philip Dunne, chair of the Parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee, wrote a lengthy letter to Sunak on Monday, saying: “The transition to net zero is one of the greatest challenges facing the UK. The decision to delay some targets, such as the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, is disappointing,” Xinhua news agency reported.In a recent keynote speech, Sunak announced…

Adelaide, Oct 3 (IANS) Tens of thousands of South Australians have been left without electricity after a damaging storm swept across the state.According to South Australia (SA) Power Networks, 23,000 households and businesses across the state were without power as of 8 a.m.on Tuesday morning, following an intense lightning storm on Monday night that caused widespread damage, reports Xinhua news agency.The State Emergency Service (SES) received more than 250 calls for assistance after 5.30 p.m. on Monday, mostly due to fallen trees and branches after wind speeds exceeded 100 km per hour.”Weatherzone recorded about 45,000 lightning strikes between 8 p.m.…

New Delhi, October 3 (IANS) India is learnt to have told Canada to withdraw around 40 diplomats from the country by October 10 amid worsening ties between the two nations, according to reports.The reports have said that New Delhi has conveyed to Canada that if the diplomats are not withdrawn by the deadline, they will lose their diplomatic immunity. There are more than 60 Canadian diplomats posted in India. Last month, after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had alleged in Parliament that Indian intelligence agents may have been involved in the murder of Sikh pro-Khalistan hardliner Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the…

London, Oct 3 (IANS) The family of Avtar Singh Khanda — the principal orchestrator of the violence at the Indian High Commission in London who died this year — has sought a formal inquest into his death from the chief coroner for England and Wales.The request by the family, as well as the Sikh Federation UK, came just as Khalistan supporters staged an anti-India protest outside the Indian High Commission in London on Monday. It also corresponds with a bitter diplomatic spat between New Delhi and Ottawa, fuelled by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent allegations of India’s involvement in…

Canberra, Oct 3 (IANS) Early voting began in Australia on Tuesday in a historic referendum to decide whether to enact an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.While the majority of Australians will vote on October 14, those who are unable to can vote at select polling centres right across the country from Tuesday, the BBC reported.The Voice to Parliament was recommended by a historic document in 2017 called the Uluru Statement from the Heart.Drafted by more than 250 Indigenous leaders, the statement is considered the best — though not unanimous — call to action for reforms on issues affecting First Nations Australians.It…

Kinshasa, Oct 3 (IANS) Denis Mukwege, a gynecologist the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his nearly two-decade fight against sexual violence, has officially announced his bid for the country’s presidential election scheduled to take place on December 20.”The right moment is now. My only motivation is to save our homeland, to develop our country. We are with the people. We cannot wait to react. I am going there now,” Xinhua news agency quoted the 68-year-old as saying while addressing a large crowd of sympathisers gathered in the capital Kinshasa, stressing his…