The Wuhan Institute of Virology did keep live bats on its premises, a report by Sky News Australia revealed Sunday, contradicting the World Health Organisation (W.H.O.) which has always maintained such suggestions are a baseless conspiracy. The revelation came on the same day the W.H.O. said “all hypotheses still remain on the table” as to the origins of the coronavirus, a direct challenge to Beijing which has repeatedly stated it is not responsible for the global pandemic and theories that say the virus was made by humans are wrong. Sky News Australia obtained official Chinese Academy of Sciences video footage to mark the launch of the new biosafety level 4 laboratory in May 2017 that addresses security precautions in place if “an accident” occurs. The video shows bats being held in a cage on the premises, along with vision of a scientist feeding a bat with a worm. The 10 minute clip is titled “The construction and research team of Wuhan P4 laboratory of Wuhan Institute of … [Read more...]

23 FALMOUTH, England (AP) — The Group of Seven wealthy democracies have wrapped up their first face-to-face summit in two years at a seaside resort in southwest England. The leaders of the G-7 — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — made commitments on a range of topics, from sharing coronavirus vaccines to tackling climate change and making corporate taxation fairer. Their final agreement from the three-day meeting also included a section on challenging China over “non-economic” economic practices and calling on Beijing to respect human rights. Here are details on the key topics they covered: VACCINE SHARING The presidents and prime ministers committed to sharing at least 1 billion vaccine shots with struggling countries over the next year, with deliveries starting in August. U.S. … [Read more...]

An unidentified drone has crashed on a South Korean island, near the disputed maritime border with North Korea -- one day after the two sides exchanged artillery fire into the sea. The wreckage was discovered Tuesday on Baengnyeong island, which is just south of the sea border. A defense ministry official in Seoul said the wreckage has been retrieved for analysis, but he declined to speculate if it belongs to North Korea. Yang Wook, researcher at the Defense Security Forum, told VOA's Korean service that it was very possible the drone was operated by Pyongyang. "There is ample room for the possibility that this drone might have been flown by North Korea. The North might have flown it to check if the artillery shells it fired hit any targets. The drone is a useful tool for that purpose," he said. On Monday, North Korea fired 100 artillery rounds into the sea on the South Korean side of the maritime border, prompting Seoul to fire its own rounds back into northern waters. No … [Read more...]

GENEVA - U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet says armed conflict is intensifying and spreading across parts of Myanmar in opposition to the military coup in February and could result in the heavy loss of life. Violence and gross human rights abuse continues to escalate against civil society opposed to the military takeover of the country’s democratically elected government. Rather than efforts to de-escalate the crisis, U.N. rights chief Bachelet says the military leaders are building up troops in key areas. That is happening primarily in areas with significant ethnic and religious minority groups, including Kayah State, Chin State and Kachin State. Myanmar Communities Take Up Arms to Resist Junta Peaceful protests against the junta are giving way to scattered firefights, targeted killings and a spate of bombings, raising fears of a sweeping civil war The high commissioner’s spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani, says state security forces … [Read more...]

BANGKOK - Rallies rang out in dozens of cities across the globe Saturday to commemorate two years since pro-democracy activists surrounded Hong Kong’s legislature in a failed effort to thwart passage of a national security law. The law has dramatically expanded Beijing's control of the semi-autonomous city. It’s passaged triggered months of anti-government protests and a violent crackdown by state security forces. Activists and political figures from 20 countries participated in the global campaign for Hong Kong, held across more than 50 cities, including several in the U.S., U.K, Canada and Australia. Virtual events were also scheduled in cities such as Bangkok and Taipei, due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Ted Hui, a pro-democracy activist and former Hong Kong legislator who fled the city after facing at least nine charges, called the rallies a “firm message” that Hong Kongers “have not given up.” On Saturday, Hui told VOA that he had shared with a crowd in his adopted home of … [Read more...]

BEIJING - At least 12 people were killed and 39 seriously injured Sunday after a gas line explosion tore through a residential neighborhood in central China. Responders to the early morning blast in the Hubei province city of Shiyan sent more than 150 people to hospital, according to a statement on the city's official social media channel. The statement said rescue efforts were continuing but gave no word on the cause of the explosion. Stall keepers and customers buying breakfast and fresh vegetables at a food market were the major victims when the explosion hit shortly after 6 a.m., according to state media reports. Images showed rescuers climbing over broken concrete slabs to reach those trapped inside. The blast appeared similar to one that occurred in the northeastern port of Qingdao in 2013, in which 55 people were killed when underground pipelines ripped open following a leak. The Shiyan explosion came a day after eight people died and three others were injured when … [Read more...]