Author: Starvision News Desk

Kathmandu, July 11 (IANS) Nepal Police on Tuesday announced that a helicopter which went missing while flying to Kathmandu from Solukhumbu district earlier in the day, has crashed, killing five people on board, while one person remained unaccounted for.The Manang Air helicopter crashed at the Lamjura area in Likhupike Rural Municipality, the police said.The area lies between Jiri and Phaplu, near Mount Everest.Niranjan Basnet, a junior police officer who is stationed at the crash site, said the five bodies have been found and a search operation is on to find the sixth missinng person.Raju Neupane, the operations and safety manager…

New York, July 11 (IANS) A team of Indian-origin researchers has developed a real-time monitor that can detect any of the SARS-CoV-2 virus variants in a room in about five minutes.The inexpensive, proof-of-concept device, developed by combining recent advances in aerosol sampling technology and an ultrasensitive biosensing technique, could also potentially monitor for other respiratory virus aerosols, such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).It can be used in hospitals and health care facilities, schools and public places to help detect the viruses.“There is nothing at the moment that tells us how safe a room is,” said John Cirrito, a…

Dhaka, July 11 (IANS) In the last 24 hours, Bangladesh reported 889 dengue cases, the highest single-day tally since January this year.According to figures reported by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), 574 people were diagnosed with dengue in Dhaka alone on Monday, reports Xinhau news agency.With the fresh infections, the number of dengue cases has surged to 13,843 in Bangladesh so far this year, the DGHS said.In the same period, three new dengue deaths were also reported.So far in July, 4,976 more dengue cases were recorded after 5,956 people were infected with the viral disease in June.A total…

Kathmandu, July 11 (IANS) A helicopter with six people onboard went missing on Tuesday in Nepal, officials said.The helicopter was flying to Kathmandu from Solukhumbu district, where Mount Everest is located.Raju Neupane, manager at Manang Air, said the people in the helicopter comprised the pilot and five passengers, all foreign nationals.The helicopter went off the radar at 10.12 a.m. on Tuesday morning, according to civil aviation authorities.The helicopter was originally heading to Lukla near the Mount Everest base camp but could not land due to bad weather.Then the helicopter landed in Surke, Solukhumbu, following which it was headed to Kathmandu.A…

Washington, July 11 (IANS) US and Ukrainian Presidents Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelensky will meet during the two-day NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, where Kiev’s membership to the military alliance will be one of the main topics of discussion.An informed source said the two leaders will meet on the second day of the Summit on Wednesday, reports CNN.The main focus of the two-day Summit is Ukraine’s membership which Zelensky has been pushing for months amid the ongoing war.But all NATO members agree that Ukraine cannot join the bloc during the war amid fears this would lead to a direct conflict…

Seoul, July 11 (IANS) South Korea’s population is set to fall to 38 million in 2070 due to its critically low birth rates, with those aged 65 and above set to take up around 46 per cent, data showed Tuesday.The figure marks a sharp drop from the 52 million estimated for this year, in which seniors take up 18.4 per cent, according to a report released by Statistics Korea.Over the period, the global population is projected to rise from 8 billion to 10.3 billion, it added.”South Korea’s population, which peaked in 2020, will fall to the 40-million level in 2041,…

New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) The Taliban has come out in support of Elon Musk-run Twitter over Mark Zuckerberg-run Threads on Instagram, saying other platforms cannot replace the original micro-blogging platform.Anas Haqqani, a Taliban thought-leader with family connections to the leadership, officially endorsed Twitter over Meta’s Threads that has crossed 100 million users within a week of its launch.“Twitter has two important advantages over other social media platforms. The first privilege is the freedom of speech. The second privilege is the public nature and credibility of Twitter,” Haqqani posted.He said that Twitter doesn’t have an intolerant policy like Meta.“Other platforms…

Reykjavik, July 11 (IANS) A volcano has erupted in Iceland near near the capital Reykjavik after several days of earthquakes, officials said.The eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula started at around 2.40 p.m. on Monday, Xinhua news agency quoted the Icelandic Meteorological Office as saying.Geophysics professor Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson told Icelandic broadcaster RUV that the eruption is small so far, but it is too early to say how it will develop.The lava flow on Monday evening was 200 meters long.The Icelandic Meteorological Office compared this to the start of volcanic activity in the area in 2021 and 2022.The current seismic unrest…

Vilnius, July 11 (IANS) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that Turkey has finally backed Sweden’s bid to join the military alliance and called Ankara’s decision “historic”.Taking to Twitter late Monday night, Stoltenberg said: “Glad to announce that after the meeting I hosted with (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan & Swedish PM (Ulf Kristersson), President Erdogan has agreed to forward Sweden’s accession protocol to the Grand National Assembly ASAP & ensure ratification.”This is an historic step which makes all NATO allies stronger & safer.”The announcement came following talks between the Turkish and Swedish leaders in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, where…

Kathmandu, July 10 ( IANS) Nepal Foreign Minister NP Saud has said that China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project has not been implemented in Himalyan country so far.Recently, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Cheng Song said that Pokhara International Airport was built under the BRI project, while Minister Saud clarified that BRI has not been implemented yet.Nepal, after taking the loan of Rs 25 billion constructed an international airport in Pokhara whose loan agreement was signed in 2012 before the BRI was announced by China in 2013.Nepal and China signed the framework agreement on BRI in 2017 but due to the…