Searching for the origin of viruses, including the novel coronavirus, is an extremely difficult and complicated undertaking prone to uncertainties, but one thing that’s certain is that the quest should be underpinned by scientific evidence, not politically motivated speculation, experts said.

“Whenever a major infectious disease breaks out, one of the first questions raised by scientists and the public is: Where did it come from?” said Su Jingjing, a professor at Peking University’s School of Health Humanities.

“Hunting down the origin of a virus, understanding how it is introduced into the human population and how it spreads further will enable medical and public health experts to better cope with the disease and prevent future outbreaks,” she added.

However, Su said, tracing the source of a virus requires large amounts of on-site investigations, thorough laboratory testing and “a great deal of luck”.

For instance, she said, it took nearly two decades for global scientists to come to an initial conclusion on who might be “patient zero” (the first case in an epidemic) of HIV/AIDS, and the question remains contentious to this day.

Likewise, scientists remain unable to determine the origin of the Ebola virus, which first emerged in the 1970s, as well as the influenza virus, which has affected humans for over a century, Su added.

Read Also; Coronavirus: G20 leaders call for urgent action to overcome pandemic

Zhao Guoping, a Chinese molecular biologist and an academician in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that searching for the origin of a virus must be based on clear and conclusive evidence, but the collection and analysis process poses severe challenges.

He said one type of evidence comes from the fields of etiology, clinical medicine and epidemiology, which reflects real-world situations, but could be inaccurate due to human interference.

The other type of evidence involves the results of genome sequencing or antibody testing. Zhao said this is more definitive, but it is challenging to “establish their connections” to other pieces of proof.

“The origin-tracing task contains a number of uncontrollable factors. Some key information could be lost forever, which means that it will be impossible for us to build a complete chain of evidence,” Zhao said during an interview with Science and Technology Daily.

“Sometimes, we might not be able to get to the bottom of the question even after very long periods of research, and we can only make inferences based on available information,” he said. “The public should have a rational expectation.”

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease, has so far presented formidable obstacles to scientists struggling to pin down its origin.

Liu Peipei, a virologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said during an earlier briefing that “patient zero” of COVID-19, as well as other of the earliest infections, might have been asymptomatic and there may be no medical records related to that person. Liu had called on global researchers to proactively search for early cases around the world.

In terms of genome sequencing, a widely recognized breakthrough is the discovery of RaTG13, a coronavirus found in horseshoe bats and whose genetic makeup is 96 percent identical to that of SARS-CoV-2.

But according to the report of an origin-tracing mission organized by the World Health Organization and conducted jointly by Chinese and WHO experts in China earlier this year, coronaviruses detected in bats and pangolins are not similar enough to make them the progenitor of the virus.

The report said more efforts are needed to take and test samples from wild animals in Southeast Asia and around the world, where surveys to identify coronaviruses related to SARS-CoV-2 are insufficient.

Su, from Peking University, said collecting samples from bats is a time-consuming procedure, and rigorous precautions must be taken to prevent infections.

“There are previous reports on finding coronaviruses related to SARS-CoV-2 in Thailand, Japan and other parts of Asia,” she said. “The workload is comparable to finding a needle in a haystack.”

Experts have warned that politicizing the origin of the virus will add more difficulties to an already herculean task as some Western governments have attempted to revive a false accusation that a laboratory incident in China was responsible for the virus jumping to humans.

Politicization opposed

“Finding the origins of a virus should be based on science, logic and rational thinking, and it is scientists who should spearhead the work, rather than politicians or intelligence agencies,” Su stressed.

“Involving intelligence agencies in the process is a blatant move to politicize the issue and will only serve to hamper international cooperation,” Su said, referring to an earlier decision by the US government.

Liang Wannian, a public health professor at Tsinghua University and head of the Chinese experts on the WHO-convened origin-tracing team, said during an earlier interview that politicization of the issue and the distortion of the team’s findings display a disrespect for the scientists’ endeavors and will hinder the global fight against the disease.

SOURCE: Chinadaily.com.cna

Agency Reporter

Attacks against so-called slaves in Mali are on the rise and authorities must do more to prevent them, two independent UN human rights experts said on Monday.

Although Mali outlawed slavery in 1905, a system of “descent-based slavery” persists, where some people are considered slaves because their ancestors were allegedly enslaved by the families of so-called masters.

People born into slavery work without pay and are deprived of basic human rights and dignity, the experts said.

Those who reject the “slave” designation and try to stand up for their rights, as well as anti-slavery organisations, are regularly violently attacked by traditional or religious leaders and their allies, who sometimes include state authorities.

Alioune Tine, UN independent expert on the human rights situation in Mali, said systemic attacks against so-called slaves are unacceptable and must stop immediately.

Furthermore, these assaults “are incompatible with an inclusive society and we condemn them in the strongest terms,” added Tomoya Obokata, the UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery.

The experts were responding to an attack on July 4 in which people from Makhadougou village, located in the eastern Kayes region, used machetes and rifles to prevent so-called slaves from working their fields.

Twelve people were injured, including three women, who were not involved in the clash, who were hit by stray bullets inside their homes.

So far in 2021, 62 people – 57 men and five women – have been injured in violent clashes in the Kayes region, while 80 have fled their homes. Twice as many people – mostly so-called “descent-based slaves” – have been injured this year, as in 2020.

“The dramatic increase in attacks this year shows the government’s gross failure to protect its people, particularly those who already suffer most from discrimination and violence,” they said.

Last September, the UN experts issued a statement condemning similar “barbaric and criminal acts”, and urged Mali to end slavery once and for all.

They also called for “a prompt, transparent, impartial and thorough investigation” into attacks in the Kayes region.

READ ALSO: Mali interregnum and Nigerian diplomacy

“It is deeply worrying that no one has been prosecuted in connection with attacks last year.

“The government’s failure to hold pro-slavery perpetrators accountable sends a shockingly disturbing signal. Traditional and religious leaders who condone these violent attacks must also be held accountable,” they said.

The UN experts renewed their call for Mali to urgently adopt a law specifically criminalising slavery. A “change of attitude” throughout society is equally as important, they added.

“It is indispensable to leave the heritage of descent-based slavery behind and to recognise that all Malians are entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,” they said.

“For Mali to move forward, there must be a recognition that all Malians – like everyone else on this planet – can expect and demand certain rights simply because they are human beings.

“There should be no discrimination based on race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property or birth.”

Mr Tine and Mr Obokata were appointed by the UN Human Rights Council and are part of its independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms which address either specific country situations or thematic issues all over the world.

They work on a voluntary basis and are not UN staff, nor are they paid by the organisation. (NAN)

Agency Reporter

U.S. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel would discuss matters concerning Afghanistan, Russia and cyber-attacks, among others.

The discussion would hold at the White House later on Thursday, a senior U.S. official said.

“I expect they will discuss the full range of shared security challenges, including Afghanistan, Libya, and the Sahel.

“I expect the leaders also will discuss shared ways to respond to regional challenges, including addressing Russian cyber-attacks, territorial aggression, countering China’s rising influence non-market economic practices and human rights abuses.

READ ALSO: Kremlin unaware who made new cyber-attacks against U.S.

“This includes forced labour, support for Ukraine sovereignty and territorial integrity and also bolstering the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the western Balkan countries,” the official told reporters.

Moscow had repeatedly denied allegations Russia played a role in recent cyber-attacks against U.S. infrastructure and businesses. (Sputnik/NAN)

Tajikistan has said that almost 350 refugees from Afghanistan had crossed into the Central Asian country, fleeing sweeping gains by Taliban fighters as foreign forces withdraw.

Border guards in the ex-Soviet country said yesterday those fleeing included 177 minors, and that two babies had died during the journey to the mountainous and impoverished country.

The Taliban’s offensive has seen a stream of Afghans make their way across the border. Earlier this months more than 1,000 government troops fled to Tajikistan after the fighters seized a border crossing between the countries.

The militia in recent weeks has brought huge swathes of Afghanistan under its control as foreign troops withdraw, including the country’s main Shir Khan Bandar border crossing with Tajikistan.

The border guards said the refugees, who included some 64 boys and 113 girls, crossed from the Badakhshan province, bringing with them herds of livestock.

Tajikistan has even considered setting up camps for Afghan refugees, Reuters reported earlier this month.

Taliban now control or at least have driven Afghan govt security forces from three major and multiple minor border crossings (from Kunduz into Tajikistan; from Herat into Iran (and Turkmenistan); now Kandahar into Pakistan).

Moscow, an important power broker in the region was closely watching the offensive, concerned about the security of countries in ex-Soviet Central Asia, where it maintains military bases.

Yesterday, about 1,000 troops at Russia’s 201st military base in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe took part in drills, Russian news agency Interfax reported.

The agency cited a statement by Russia’s Central Military District as saying the exercises were meant for unit commanders and combat chiefs to ready for “combat operations in a dynamically changing situation”.

The 201st base is one of Russia’s most important foreign bases and has the aim of helping maintain stability in Central Asia and providing support for Tajik troops.

 

LOOTERS yesterday again attacked shopping malls and other businesses in the nation’s industrial centre in Johannesburg and other cities in South Africa.

This is as the death toll from six days of protests in the country rose to 72 as violence continues across the country in the aftermath of the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma.

Most of the deaths, according to a police statement, “relate to stampedes that occurred during incidents of looting of shops”.

The police said they had identified 12 people suspected of provoking the riots and that a total of 1,234 people had been arrested.

Video footage surfaced on the internet showing looters and mobs setting alight shopping centres amidst clashes with the police in several cities on Tuesday.

The BBC filmed a baby being thrown from a building in Durban that was on fire after ground-floor shops were looted.

On Monday, 10 people were killed in a stampede during looting at a shopping centre in Soweto.

By yesterday, more than 600 stores had been looted with products worth billions of rand damaged, according to the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa, which called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to impose a state of emergency.

The violence, according to reports, was triggered by the jailing of Zuma on July 7.

Zuma was convicted of contempt after failing to appear before a special commission investigating corruption during his nine-year presidency.

His lawyer argued Monday before South Africa’s Constitutional Court that Zuma should have his sentence rescinded.

Judges on the court said they would consider the arguments and announce their decision at a later date.

But, President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday consulted with leaders of political parties on measures to end the unrest that ensued after the incarceration of Zuma.

Protests erupted on Friday night following news of the ex-president’s jailing. The first waves of unrest began in Zuma’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal and have since spilled over to South Africa’s economic capital of Johannesburg in Gauteng.

“President Ramaphosa has told the leaders of South Africa’s political parties that government is intensifying its efforts and working in partnership with civil society to stem public violence affecting various parts of the country … Leaders of political parties characterised the situation in the country as an attack on the democratic order that required a multifaceted response in the long term, in view of deep levels of unemployment and poverty,” the presidency said in a statement.

Party leaders called on transport authorities to ensure the safety of major routes so that the population has access to food, fuel and medical supplies. The politicians also called for a 9.00 p.m.-4.00 a.m. curfew.

“The political leaders called for greater coordination among the police, the national defence force, intelligence agencies, private security services and community-based safety structures,” the statement read, adding that “President Ramaphosa welcomed proposals made by political leaders and said expanded deployment of the South African National Defence Force was being addressed.”

 

 

Former Mayor of the city of Oakland, California, United States (U.S.), Elihu Harris has joined the call for a global prayer in the face of the current ethnic and social tension in Nigeria.

Harris, who is throwing his influence behind U.S-based Nigerian peace activist and social entrepreneur, Prince Ayo Manuel Ajisebutu, convener of the month-long prayer session, said Nigeria has the opportunity, now to get things right and lead the future of other African countries.

He added that anything short of peace for Nigeria portends danger for the collective vision of Africa among other continents of the world.

Read Also:Buhari lays out two-year financing, borrowing plans

 

Harris, who has never hidden his love for Nigeria and its people, said: “The entire world is waiting for Nigeria to wake up and take its rightful place in the community of developed nations and ignite hope in all Africans both in Africa and outside Africa.”He pleaded with the leadership of the country to walk the path of peace and unity, and change the negative narratives that have tainted the country for so long.

Scheduled to hold from July 1 to July 30, 2021 at 12:00pm each day, the call for global prayer for Nigeria is the second in the series this year – the first being the aftermath of the Lekki shootings on October 20, 2020, which featured U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

Ajisebutu, who is concerned about the spate of shootings by unknown gunmen, ethnic unrest, herders/farmers crises, kidnappings, and calls for dissolution of Nigeria, especially by Southwest, Southeast and South-South ethnic nationalities, believes in the power of prayers to calm the growing tension in the country.

By Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja

 

President Muhammadu Buhari has promised Nigeria’s support to the Republic of Cameroon in its efforts to sustain its indivisibility and unity as a nation.

He spoke yesterday at State House, Abuja, while receiving Mr. Felix Mbayu, a Special Envoy from President Paul Biya of Cameroon.

He noted that Nigeria and Cameroon share historical ties and common borders, which make it imperative for the two countries to look out for each other’s well-being.

According to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President said “that was why when I first came to office in 2015, I immediately visited all our neighbours, because we are very clear about the value of good neighbourliness.

“You will have problems if your neighbours are not cultivated. And our relationship with Cameroon had been very clear since when I was serving in the military. The country offered us needed support during our Civil War,” the President said.

Saying Nigeria was acutely aware of the separatist agitation by the Ambazonian Movement, President Buhari submitted that it was in the interest of Nigeria “to ensure that Cameroon is stable, and we will be steadfast in our support for you.”

Read Also: Nigeria lucky to remain despite challenges, says Buhari

 

Mbayu, who is also Minister Delegate in Charge of Cooperation with the Commonwealth, said President Biya was happy with the role Nigeria was playing in Africa, noting that the two neighbours share not just borders and historical ties, “but also common challenges”.

“These challenges border on security specially, and it is incumbent on us both to find common solutions,” he added.

The Special Envoy said President Biya looked forward to a situation in which Nigerian territory would not be available for the Ambazonian Movement to destabilise Cameroon, “as some people are taking advantage of some crises in the two English speaking parts of Cameroon to break the country apart”.

He congratulated Nigeria on the recent arrest and repatriation of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) through collaboration of national security agencies and INTERPOL.

 

Dozens of people have been killed during the unrest in South Africa, officials report indicated yesterday.

People initially took to the streets in the country to protest the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma last week. Since then, the protests have rapidly escalated into looting and riots.

Many people are frustrated by inequality and poverty in the country, which have been exacerbated because of severe restrictions aimed at blocking the spread of COVID-19.

According to state and provincial authorities, the death toll is at least 45 people. This includes 19 deaths in Gauteng and 26 in KwaZulu-Natal. Gauteng includes the cities of Pretoria and Johannesburg, while KwaZulu-Natal in the east is Zuma’s home state. Police Minister Bheki Cele, however, put the official death toll at 10.

The bodies of 10 people were found on Monday evening after a stampede at a Soweto shopping mall, said Gauteng’s premier, David Makhura.

Military patrols began in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal yesterday to assist local law enforcement agencies, but rioting continued.

In Durban, the provincial capital of KwaZulu-Natal and a major import-export hub, hundreds of looters raided warehouses and supermarkets.

Aerial footage from local channel eNCA showed black smoke rising from several warehouses and debris on the streets.

The regional government said the protests could cause problems with municipal utility services such as the water supply, as urgently needed repairs could not be carried out.

KwaZulu-Natal regional premier Sihle Zikalala estimated that 1 billion rand ($68 million, €57.5 million) worth of damage had been caused.

Police Minister Cele said 757 people had been arrested so far. He added that the government would act to prevent unrest from spreading further and warned that people would not be allowed “to make a mockery of our democratic state.”

Read Also: S/Africa’s jailed ex-leader Zuma loses bid to overturn arrest

 

The government has stopped short of declaring a national state of emergency, but has deployed troops.

Makhura called for calm in a tweet on Tuesday. “The gains we have made in revitalizing our economy are being reversed by the destruction and shutting down of businesses,” he said.

The protests initially started out as support for Zuma, who last week on Wednesday began a 15-month sentence for contempt of court.

He was handed jail term for defying a constitutional court order to give evidence at an inquiry investigating high-level corruption during his nine years in office until 2018.

The jail sentence marked a significant fall for Zuma, who was a prominent anti-apartheid activist and leader of the liberation-movement-turned ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC).

But his core supporters, including many in KwaZuli-Natal, were moved to protest, angered at Zuma’s sentence. They claim that he is the victim of politically-motivated harassment by allies of his successor and current president, Cyril Ramaphosa.

Dissatisfaction is rife more generally in South Africa, however, not least because of an unemployment rate north of 30% and youth unemployment figures that are higher still.

 

Agency Reporter

 

People from the Aksu, Kashgar and Hotan prefectures and other places in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region debunked claims alleging “forced boarding” of ethnic minority students as they shared their personal experiences with local education authorities at a news conference on Sunday.

Mihrigul Mamtimin, a teacher at a primary school in Weili county of Xinjiang’s Bayingol Mongolian autonomous prefecture, serves as a dorm parent. She supervises students living in the residence hall and provides them with a favorable environment for healthy growth and successful study.

She said the boarding school offers free student accommodations and food. Tutors guide boarders in each class and answer their questions after class.

Students from Han, Uygur, Hui and other ethnic groups study and play together, helping their classmates improve their study habits and life skills.

“The boarding school helps students develop good habits. It has received positive feedback from the students and their parents,” Mihrigul Mamtimin said, noting that some anti-China elements in foreign countries have fabricated lies about “forced boarding” of students in Xinjiang, which she called “outrageous”.

“Students can decide for themselves whether to be a boarder or not, and boarders return home after school every Friday to spend the weekend with their parents,” she said. “There is no such thing as forced boarding.”

(Chinadaily.com.cn)