Author: Starvision News Desk

New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) The US government has quietly dropped its $125 million five-year flagship project for hunting viruses among wildlife to prevent human pandemics, over safety concerns, according to a report. Known as DEEP VZN (pronounced “deep vision”), short for Discovery and Exploration of Emerging Pathogens — Viral Zoonoses, the project was launched in October 2021 by USAID, an arm of the US State Department.The agency promoted it as “a critical next step to understand and address the risks posed by zoonotic diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans”.DEEP VZN succeeded an earlier USAID programme called PREDICT…

London, Sep 9 (IANS) Five former Met Police officers have pleaded guilty to sharing racist jokes involving UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Queen Elizabeth II and many others in a WhatsApp group between 2020 and 2022, the police said.Peter Booth (66), Robert Lewis (62), Anthony Elsom (67), Alan Hall (65) and Trevor Lewton (65) appeared at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, where they pleaded guilty to 19 offences under Section 127(1) (a) of the Communications Act 2003.The officers, who retired between 2001 and 2015, shared offensive messages on the WhatsApp group titled ‘Old Boys Beer Meet’, The Evening Standard…

London, Sep 9 (IANS) As British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attends the ongoing G20 Summit in Delhi, the UK government has decided not to call for the release of its national imprisoned in India on terror charges for the past five years.The refusal to call for British Sikh Jagtar Singh Johal’s release came in a letter sent to Scottish National Party MP Martin Docherty-Hughes on Friday, saying that “the course of action would not be in his best interests”, The Guardian reported.The letter signed by the Minister for Asia, Lord Ahmad, said: “Having carefully considered the potential benefits and risks…

New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) As many as 59 people have tested positive for Covid in the country during the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Saturday. The total caseload rose to 4,49,97,642 with addition of the fresh cases, as per the latest update by the Ministry.According to the Health Ministry, 64 people have recuperated from the disease, taking the total tally to 4,44,65,138.The death toll rose to 5,32,025 as one more succumbed to the virus. Active cases stands at 479.Over 220.67 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered so far.–IANS std/svn

Singapore, Sep 9 (IANS) Scientists have uncovered several previously unknown strains of swine flu viruses that have been circulating unnoticed in Cambodian pig populations over the past 15 years, potentially posing a pandemic risk. The new strains include viruses that have been passed by humans to pigs, as well as some with genes originating from as far as North America, said researchers from Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore.Pigs are a key intermediary in the emergence and potential spread of influenza viruses between animals and humans, the researchers noted, as they provide a suitable environment for the shuffling of gene segments between…

Quito, Sep 9 (IANS) Amid a national state of emergency, Ecuadorian councilor Bolivar Vera was found dead on a road in the coastal province of Guayas hours after being kidnapped, his relatives said.Martha Vera Peralta, sister of the deceased, confirmed his death in a Facebook message on Friday, which Interior Minister Juan Zapata later corroborated, reports Xinhua news agency.The councilor was kidnapped on Thursday afternoon in the El Arbolito area in the town of Duran while traveling in a vehicle with his nephew.A car with several armed men intercepted his vehicle and took him by force, according to local media.His…

Honolulu, Sep 9 (IANS) Hawaii Governor Josh Green said that 66 people were still unaccounted for following the devastating wildfires on Maui Island.The wildfires that erupted on August 8 and raged through Lahaina in Maui, reducing the oceanside historic town to ashes, reports Xinhua news agency.According to the authorities, the fires claimed 115 lives and destroyed swathes of indigenous cultural heritage, making it one of the worst natural disasters in Hawaii’s history and the deadliest US wildfires in over a century.”Today marks one month since deadly fires devastated Lahaina and other areas of Maui,” said Green in an address on…

Rabat, Sep 9 (IANS) The death toll from the powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck central Morocco has increased to 632, with 329 injured person, state TV reported on Saturday.Morocco’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that the fatalities were reported from the provinces and municipalities of Al-Haouz, Marrakesh, Ouarzazate, Azilal, Chichaoua and Taroudant.According to the US Geological Survey, the epicentre was in the High Atlas Mountains, 71 km south-west of Marrakesh, at a depth of 18.5 km, the BBC reported.The quake struck at 11.11 p.m. and videos on social media showed people fleeing on the roads, damaged buildings and rubble-strewn…

New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) As the high-profile G20 Summit began here on Saturday, Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told IANS that the relation between New Delhi and Dhaka is a “very deep rooted one” and “we believe that every time the two countries remain united in every cause”.Khan, who is also a trusted aide of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also asserted that his country will get some good results from the G20 Summit.Sheikh Hasina is one of the more than 150 heads of state attending the two-day event at the national capital.Bangladesh is the only country that has…

New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) India has reached out to offer assistance to its nationals in Morocco, which was hit by a powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake, leaving at least 296 people dead and over 150 others injured.The Indian Embassy in Morocco released a helpline number asking Indians to reach out for any kind of assistance. “In the wake of the recent earthquake in Morocco, Indian nationals in Morocco may reach out to Indian Embassy helpline number +212661297491 for any assistance,” the Embassy posted a message on X on Saturday. Condoling the loss of lives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered assistance…