Vatican rejects second appeal of Kerala nun against her expulsion from congregation

French Nobel prize winning scientist Luc Montagnier has sparked a fresh controversy by claiming that the SARS-CoV-2 virus came from a lab, and is the result of an attempt to manufacture a vaccine against the AIDS virus.

In an interview given to French CNews channel and during a podcast by Pourquoi Docteur, professor Montagnier who co-discovered HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) claimed the presence of elements of HIV in the genome of the coronavirus and even elements of the "germ of malaria" are highly suspect, according to a report in Asia Times.

"The Wuhan city laboratory has specialized in these coronaviruses since the early 2000s. They have expertise in this area," he was quoted as saying.

The theory that Covid-19 virus originated in the lab is making rounds for quite some time.

US President Donald Trump last week acknowledged Fox News report that the novel coronavirus may have been accidentally leaked by an intern working at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.

The Fox News, in an exclusive report, based on unnamed sources has claimed that though the virus is a naturally occurring strain among bats and not a bioweapon, but it was being studied in Wuhan laboratory.

The initial transmission of the virus was bat-to-human, the news channel said, adding that the "patient zero" worked at the laboratory. The lab employee was accidentally infected before spreading the disease among the common people outside the lab in Wuhan city.

Professor Montagnier was awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine for the identification of AIDS virus, with his colleague professor Franeoise Barre-Sinoussi.

His fresh claim on coronavirus, however, received criticism from scientists, including his colleagues.

"Just in case you don't know. Dr Montagnier has been rolling downhill incredibly fast in the last few years. From baselessly defending homeopathy to becoming an antivaxxer. Whatever he says, just don't believe him," tweeted Juan Carlos Gabaldon.

As per a recent Washington Post, two years ago, the US embassy officials in China raised concerns about the insufficient biosafety at the Chinese government's Wuhan Institute of Virology where deadly viruses and infectious diseases are studied.

Though the institute, located quite close to the Wuhan wet market, is China's first biosafety level IV lab, the US state department had warned in 2018 about "serious shortage of appropriately trained technicians and investigators needed to safely operate this high-containment laboratory".

Bengaluru, Mar 27: With the numbers of COVID-19 optimistic instances rising at an alarming price in Karnataka, the state is on the verge of coming into stage three of the coronavirus epidemic. Which means that the virus is spreading to individuals who haven’t any journey historical past to Covid-19 affected international locations or contact with a COVID-19 optimistic individual with such a historical past.
Consequently, authorities in Karnataka expect a surge in optimistic instances within the coming days. This surge is probably going to come from pockets throughout the state which have a lot of coronavirus suspects, primarily individuals who have returned from Covid-19 affected international locations.

Within the parlance of the corona epidemic fighters, these pockets are referred to as clusters. Bengaluru is one massive cluster with many suspects, a lot of whom are IT professionals who lately returned from Europe, USA and Australia, and many others. The coastal belt is one other cluster, with suspects who’ve lately travelled to Center East. There are different clusters in Karnataka, the place suspects are those that returned after a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Medical schooling minister Ok Sudhakar admitted that the speed of enhance of COVID-19 positives in Karnataka is alarming. For over a month, the state had restricted the variety of optimistic instances to single digits. Nevertheless, within the final 4 days, the quantity has gone up sixfold and Karnataka now has 55 instances, the third largest variety of COVID-19 optimistic instances within the nation.

Dr Sudhakar stated the federal government was changing each authorities hospital right into a quarantine centre to accommodate any variety of optimistic instances.

“Our goal just isn’t to get right into a scenario like Italy, the place the federal government has been lowered to expressing helplessness. In subsequent 20 days, now we have to keep away from moving into such a scenario. I visited Chinnaswamy and Kanteerava stadiums and we’re working out if the stadiums will be transformed into quarantine centres, if warranted,” Dr Sudhakar stated.

The state police are struggling to implement the lockdown due to non-cooperation from some folks. They plan to rope in celebrities to ship throughout the message on social distancing.

Whereas some with home-quarantine seals are discovered roaming within the streets, some nonetheless assume the lockdown is a vacation.

“We’re roping in film stars in addition to sports activities personalities to give out a critical message on COVID-19. If the message goes dwelling, it could assist us management folks to a big extent,” he added.

Kalaburgi, May 27: Karnataka's Kalaburgi district recorded a maximum temperature of 44 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, as per information provided by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

In light of the increasing mercury levels, people here were seen consuming sugarcane juice and cold drinks to beat the heat. Animals and birds could also be seen searching for water for relief from the scorching sun.

Locals of the area requested the district administration to take necessary actions such as spraying water on roads, in order to bring down the temperatures.

"We are facing huge heat waves in this district from the past two days, and even the temperature is around 44 to 45 degrees on a daily basis. So, it is a very alarming situation in Kalaburgi. When we move around the city, we are unable to find water and fresh fruit juice, and even if fresh juice is available, we are afraid of getting infected by COVID-19," said one local.

"If we carry cold water, it gets warm within half an hour, and gets unfit for drinking, and it is tough for us. I request the district administration to look into this matter and do the needful such as spraying water on the roads, etc. for slightest relief," he added.