Author: Starvision News Desk

New York, Sep 26 (IANS) Members of the Hindu community in Seattle held a prayer ceremony for Jaahnavi Kandula, the 23-year-old Indian student who died after being hit by a police patrol vehicle in January this year.Around 25 people gathered at Denny Park on Sunday to perform a ‘shanti puja’, or peace prayer, to invoke peace and blessings for Kandula.“You create a message with protest, but you can create an even stronger message with peace,” Arun Sharma, founder of community organisation UTSAV, told The Seattle Times.Along with other community members, UTSAV volunteers had recently met Mayor Bruce Harrell to demand…

Kathmandu, Sep 26 (IANS) Echoing China’s stance, Nepal on Tuesday said that it was against the “independence” of Taiwan.The Nepali side reiterated its firm commitment to the One-China principle, according to the 13-page long joint statement issued during the official visit of Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to China, recognising the Beijing government as the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, the Nepali side is against “Taiwan independence”.Dahal, who reached China on September 23 from New York, is currently in in the Asian giaint and held talks with the…

Islamabad, Sep 26 (IANS) Traces of wild poliovirus type 1 have been found in sewage samples collected from two different parts of Pakistan, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.A sewage sample collected from the southern port city of Karachi on September 5 and two samples collected from the Hangu district of northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province the following day tested positive for the virus, the Ministry said in a statement.A national polio campaign will start from October 2 to vaccinate over 40 million children under five years of age, the ministry said, adding that all children in Hangu and Karachi would…

Varanasi (UP), Sep 26 (IANS) Scientists at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) claim to have found an Ayurvedic cure for rheumatism.Research conducted on patients of rheumatism at the department of Physiotherapy of faculty of Ayurveda, BHU found that Ayurvedic medicine ‘Amritadi Churna’ is effective for treatment of this disease.The research was conducted by Dr Khushboo Aggarwal under the guidance of Prof Rajendra Prasad and Prof Jyoti Shankar Tripathi of the department.Prof Prasad said rheumatism, which is colloquially called arthritis, has symptoms like unbearable pain, swelling and fever in many joints of the body. If timely treatment is not done, fingers…

Chennai, Sept 26 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu health department will hold 1,000 medical camps to screen dengue from October 1, state Health Minister Ma Subramanian announced on Tuesday. In his announcement, the Minister said that the camps are being held so that the disease can be diagnosed at the earliest and treated.He said that a medical team will visit the fever-affected areas every day and conduct medical camps, adding that a total of 476 mobile medical teams will be pressed into service for creating awareness among the public.Subramanian said that about 805 Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) Mobile School Teams…

London, Sep 26 (IANS) A team of scientists has found a link between molnupiravir — an antiviral drug for Covid-19 infections — and a pattern of mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 virus.Molnupiravir works by inducing mutations in the virus’s genetic information, or genome, during replication. Many of these mutations will damage or kill the virus, reducing viral load in the body. It was one of the first antivirals available on the market during the Covid pandemic and was widely adopted by many countries. “Covid-19 is still having a major effect on human health, and some people have difficulty clearing the virus,…

New York, Sep 25 (IANS) Scientists have identified a single, small strand of microRNA, or miRNA, that plays a critical role in fighting cancer. The team at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in the US found that the microRNA, called let-7, also has the ability to recognise and remember tumour cells like T-cells.This cellular memory is the basis for how vaccines work.The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, can help build new strategies for the next generation of cancer-fighting immunotherapies, the team said. “Our bodies have T-cells, which are white blood cells that specialise in fighting both pathogens, think of…

Surrey (British Columbia), Sep 25 (IANS) At least six men and two vehicles were involved in the killing of Canada-based pro-Khalistan hardliner Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a gurdwara in British Columbia in June, according to a video reviewed by The Washington Post and witness accounts, suggesting a larger and more organised operation than has previously been reported.Members of the local Sikh community, meanwhile, say authorities have told them little about their investigation of the June 18 killing outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey.They said police were slow to the scene, and disagreement between agencies caused further delay.Several business…

Jakarta, Sep 26 (IANS) A strong earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck indonesia’s North Sulawesi province on Tuesday, but did not trigger giant waves, authorities said.The country’s weather agency had earlier released the earthquake’s magnitude of 6.3 before they revised it, reports Xinhua news.The quake occurred at 8.39 a.m., with its epicenter being at 40 km southeast of Kepulauan Talaud district and a depth of 109 km, it said.The weather agency did not issue tsunami warning as the quake did not potentially trigger giant waves.–IANSksk

Melbourne, Sep 26 (IANS) Daniel Andrews, the current premier of the Australian state of Victoria, held a snap media conference on Tuesday, announcing that he is resigning from the role after spending almost nine years in office.The announcement came unexpectedly to local media as the conference was organised with just 40 minutes’ notice, reports Xinhua news agency.For the Labor Party’s longest-serving premier in the state, Andrews admitted that it was “not an easy decision”.According to the Parliament of Victoria, Andrews has been serving as the state’s premier since December 2014 and leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor…