WORLD

Chinese scientists allegedly investigated weaponising coronaviruses five years before the Covid-19 pandemic and may have predicted a World War III fought with biological weapons, according to media reports referring to documents obtained by the US State Department.

According to ‘The Sun’ newspaper in the UK, quoting reports first released by ‘The Australian’, the “bombshell” documents obtained by the US State Department reportedly show the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) commanders making the sinister prediction.

US officials allegedly obtained the papers which were written by military scientists and senior Chinese public health officials in 2015 as part of their own investigation into the origins of Covid-19.

The Vice President of the United States of America Kamala Harris on Friday said the COVID-19 surge and the resultant deaths in India is "nothing short of heartbreaking" and that India's welfare is critically important to US.

The US administration under President Joe Biden has pledged help to India in its hour of need, Harris said that the entire government machinery has been working to help the country in this hour of crisis.

"At the beginning of the pandemic, when our hospital beds were stretched, India sent assistance. And today, we are determined to help India in its hour of need," Harris said in her remarks at the State Department's Diaspora outreach event on US COVID Relief for India, reported a news agency.

In an effort to contain the spread of the new COVID-19 variant from India, Srilanka on Thursday announced the decision to suspend all Indian travellers from entering the country.

The announcement comes as India is reeling under the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In a statement, CAASL Additional Director General P. A. Jayakantha said the restrictions were applied until further notice following the guidelines received by the Health Ministry until the next evaluation, reports the Daily Mirror newspaper.

Nepal's embattled Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli-led government on Wednesday lost majority support in the House of Representatives after the CPN (Maoist Center) led by Pushpakamal Dahal "Prachanda" officially withdrew support to it.

The party submitted a letter to this effect to the Parliament Secretariat, informing about its decision to withdraw support to the government, according to a senior leader of the party, Ganesh Shah.

Chief Whip of the Maoist Center Dev Gurung handed over the letter to officials at the Parliament Secretariat, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held a virtual summit with his British counterpart Boris Johnson wherein the leaders discussed the extradition of fugitive Indian businessmen Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi. Modi sought an early extradition of the economic offenders, and the UK PM assured to do everything possible, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The meeting also aimed at further bolstering bilateral ties between the two countries in a range of areas including healthcare and trade, as the UK Prime Minister announced GBP 1 billion worth of UK-India trade and investment. According to a statement from Johnson’s office, “more than 6,500 new jobs will be created around the UK thanks to the one billion pounds of new UK-India trade and investment announced by the Prime Minister today.”