Covid could have originated in China THREE months earlier than thought US scientists claim - Daily Express

UK seeing 'decline in coronavirus infections' says expert

The study, by the Institute for Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine at Temple University, tracked mutations in the coronavirus back to its ‘progenitor’, or earliest common ancestor.

It concluded the virus first developed in China back in October or early November 2019.

According to their research, the progenitor dates from mid-October to November 2019.

Sergei Pond, one of the team behind the report, said: “All the genetic evidence makes it clear this virus is from China.

A new report has confirmed coronavirus originated in China (Image: GETTY)

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“The pattern of worldwide spread is also consistent with Chinese viruses seeding epidemics in other countries.”

Beijing only announced to the world it was fighting a new infectious disease on December 31 2019.

In a separate paper, published last year, scientists analysed the genetic trees of 7,666 SARS-CoV-2 genomes collected from around the world.

They estimated a common ancestor to the circulating COVID virus strains most likely appeared in China at some point between Oct 6 and Dec 11, 2019.

READ MORE: Captain Tom Moore health update - War veteran in hospital with covid

"All the genetic evidence makes it clear this virus is from China" (Image: GETTY)

They wrote in Infection, Genetics and Evolution: “The genomic diversity of the global SARS-CoV-2 population being recapitulated in multiple countries points to extensive worldwide transmission of COVID-19, likely from extremely early on in the pandemic.”

Separate research involved examining medical records which show patients experienced a mystery pneumonia-like illness from as early as September, according to a Mail on Sunday report last month.

Forty patients were treated with the new illness which resembled Covid-19 - and eight died during treatment in hospital, according to the files.

Chinese officials have promoted a number of unproven theories about the origins of coronavirus including that it began in Italy or was imported into Wuhan by visiting American troops.

READ MORE: UK breaks vaccination record with 1.1million doses in 24hours

Donald Trump suggested coronavirus could originate from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (Image: GETTY)

Last week a foreign ministry spokeswoman said it could have originated in a laboratory in Maryland, USA.

A number of senior US figures, including former president Donald Trump, have suggested coronavirus originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology which was working with bat coronaviruses.

Asked whether he’d seen anything that “gives you a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the origin of this virus” last May Mr Trump replied: “Yes, I have. Yes, I have.”

Asked to provide proof he added: “I can’t tell you that. I’m not allowed to tell you that.”

Vladimir Putin warns coronavirus has 'exacerbated' global issues

According to the US State Department “several” researchers at the facility fell ill during the autumn of 2019.

However the accusation has been fiercely denied by Chinese authorities.

A World Health Organisation team is currently investigating the pandemic’s origins though there are fears its efforts could be frustrated by Beijing.

Speaking to the Daily Mail Tom Turgendhat MP, the Tory chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, commented: “The evidence of the virus emerging from Wuhan is compelling but Beijing continues to blame others.”

The UK injected nearly 600,000 coronavirus vaccines on Saturday (Image: GETTY)

In total over 2.2 million people across the world have been killed by coronavirus, with the United States, Brazil, Mexico and India seeing the most deaths.

Britain has recorded over 100,000 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test.

On Saturday nearly 600,000 people across the UK received a Covid-19 vaccine, the highest daily figure for the country yet.

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2021-02-01 01:16:00Z
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Myanmar coup feared as army detains Aung San Suu Kyi - Financial Times

Myanmar’s military has seized power in a coup, detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior members of the country’s ruling party after several days of rising tensions over the results of a recent election.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s 75-year-old state counsellor, President Win Myint and other members of the ruling National League for Democracy party were arrested at their residences in the capital Naypyidaw early on Monday.

Later in the morning, Myanmar’s military said that it had taken control of the country and declared a state of emergency for a year, handing power to Min Aung Hlaing, the military’s powerful commander-in-chief.

Residents of the commercial capital Yangon and other cities said that service for all four of the country’s telecoms companies had been cut off, some internet service providers were down and terrestrial television service was restricted to the military’s Myawaddy TV channel.

The military’s power grab came hours before Myanmar’s newly elected parliament was due to meet for the first time since a November 8 election, the results of which the military has contested.

Sean Turnell, an Australian academic who serves as an adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi, confirmed news agency reports of the arrests.

“All the people in Naypyidaw have been cut off, so it looks like the reports about Aung San Suu Kyi and the president being detained appear to be true,” he told the Financial Times from Yangon.

Last week, Myanmar’s military and Min Aung Hlaing suggested they were ready to launch a coup after complaining about alleged irregularities in the November election.

The NLD won the poll by a landslide, ensuring Aung San Suu Kyi a second five-year term in office. The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development party was trounced, but it refused to recognise the results, with the backing of senior military leaders.

As tensions between the government and military rose last week, Myanmar’s election commission rejected the military’s allegations of vote fraud. A group of domestic election observer organisations that had monitored the vote said that while there were some shortcomings in the process, overall “the results of the elections were credible and reflected the will of the majority voters”.

On Friday, the UN and the embassies of several European countries and the US issued statements saying they opposed any effort by Myanmar’s military to overturn the election’s result.

However, on Saturday the military appeared to step away from the coup threat, saying it would abide by and protect the constitution.

The coup was a blow to democratic hopes in a country that was ruled by the military from 1962 to 2011, when Myanmar began its transition to democracy under a constitution that reserved three important ministries and 25 per cent of parliament for army appointees. The NLD took power in 2016 under a civilian government headed by Aung San Suu Kyi.

Thant Myint-U, a historian and author of several books on Myanmar, said Monday’s events opened the door to “an incredibly uncertain future”.

“Myanmar’s a country awash in weapons, with millions in desperate poverty and deep ethnic and religious divisions,” he said. “The possibility of far more bloodshed than we’ve seen in recent years is not unimaginable.”

The US and Australia condemned the military’s actions on Monday. The White House issued a statement saying it was “alarmed” at news of the arrests and said that President Joe Biden had been briefed by national security adviser Jake Sullivan abut the situation.

“We continue to affirm our strong support for Burma’s democratic institutions and, in co-ordination with our regional partners, urge the military and all other parties to adhere to democratic norms and the rule of law, and to release those detained today,” the statement said.

Australia’s government said it was “deeply concerned at reports the Myanmar military is once again seeking to seize control of Myanmar” in a statement by Marise Payne, the minister of foreign affairs.

Twitter: @JohnReedwrites

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2021-02-01 03:58:00Z
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Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi 'detained by military', NLD party says - BBC News

Reuters

Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Myanmar's governing National League for Democracy (NLD) party, has been arrested, a party spokesman said.

It comes amid tensions between the civilian government and the military, stoking fears of a coup.

At elections in November, the NLD won enough seats to form a government, but the army says the vote was fraudulent.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, was ruled by the military until 2011. Ms Suu Kyi spent many years under house arrest.

The newly elected lower house of parliament was due to convene for the first time on Monday but the military was calling for a postponement.

• Aung San Suu Kyi: Democracy icon who fell from grace
• What you need to know about the Rohingya crisis

Soldiers are on the streets of the capital, Naypyitaw, and the main city, Yangon.

Mobile internet data connections and some phone services have been disrupted in major cities, while the state broadcaster MRTV says it is having technical issues and is off air.

The BBC's South East Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head, says this looks like a full-scale coup, despite the military promising only last week to abide by the constitution which it drafted more than a decade ago.

Under the constitution it does have significant powers to declare a state of emergency, but detaining political leaders like Ms Suu Kyi is a provocative and very risky move, one which may well be strongly opposed, our correspondent says.

NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt told the Reuters news agency by phone that Ms Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other leaders had been "taken" in the early hours of the morning.

"I want to tell our people not to respond rashly and I want them to act according to the law," he said, adding he also expected to be detained.

Soldiers also visited the homes of chief ministers in several regions and took them away, family members said.

What happened in the election?

The NLD won 83% of available seats in the 8 November election in what many saw as a referendum on Ms Suu Kyi's civilian government.

It was just the second election since the end of military rule in 2011.

But the military has disputed the result, filing complaints at the Supreme Court against the president and the chair of the electoral commission.

Fears of a coup rose after the military recently threatened to "take action" over alleged fraud. The election commission has rejected the allegations.

Who is Aung San Suu Kyi?

Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of Myanmar's independence hero, General Aung San. He was assassinated when she was only two years old, just before Myanmar gained independence from British colonial rule in 1948.

Ms Suu Kyi was once seen as a beacon for human rights - a principled activist who gave up her freedom to challenge the ruthless army generals who ruled Myanmar for decades.

In 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, while still under house arrest, and hailed as "an outstanding example of the power of the powerless".

Ms Suu Kyi spent nearly 15 years in detention between 1989 and 2010.

In November 2015 she led the National League for Democracy (NLD) to a landslide victory in Myanmar's first openly contested election for 25 years.

The Myanmar constitution forbids her from becoming president because she has children who are foreign nationals. But Ms Suu Kyi, now 75, is widely seen as de facto leader.

But since becoming Myanmar's state counsellor, her leadership has been defined by the treatment of the country's mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.

In 2017 hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh due to an army crackdown sparked by deadly attacks on police stations in Rakhine state.

Ms Suu Kyi's former international supporters accused her of doing nothing to stop rape, murder and possible genocide by refusing to condemn the still powerful military or acknowledge accounts of atrocities.

A few initially argued that she was a pragmatic politician, trying to govern a multi-ethnic country with a complex history.

But her personal defence of the army's actions at the International Court of Justice hearing in 2019 in the Hague was seen as a new turning point that obliterated what little remained of her international reputation.

At home, however, "the Lady", as Ms Suu Kyi is known, remains wildly popular among the Buddhist majority who hold little sympathy for the Rohingya.

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2021-02-01 01:07:00Z
52781337950393

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi 'detained by military', NLD party says - BBC News

Reuters

Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Myanmar's governing National League for Democracy (NLD) party, has been arrested, a party spokesman said.

It comes amid tensions between the civilian government and the military, stoking fears of a coup.

At elections in November, the NLD won enough seats to form a government, but the army says the vote was fraudulent.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, was ruled by the military until 2011. Ms Suu Kyi spent many years under house arrest.

The newly elected lower house of parliament was due to convene for the first time on Monday but the military was calling for a postponement.

The BBC's South East Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head, says there are soldiers on the streets of the capital, Naypyitaw, and the main city, Yangon.

NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt told the Reuters news agency by phone that Ms Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other leaders had been "taken" in the early hours of the morning.

"I want to tell our people not to respond rashly and I want them to act according to the law," he said, adding he also expected to be detained.

• Aung San Suu Kyi: Democracy icon who fell from grace
• What you need to know about the Rohingya crisis

Telephone and internet lines in Naypyitaw have been cut, the BBC's Burmese Service reports.

State media MRTV is having technical issues and is unable to broadcast, the network said.

Soldiers also visited the homes of chief ministers in several regions and took them away, family members said.

On Saturday Myanmar's armed forces promised to abide by the constitution as concerns grew that they were preparing to stage a coup.

What happened in the election?

The NLD won 83% of available seats in the 8 November election in what many saw as a referendum on Ms Suu Kyi's civilian government.

It was just the second election since the end of military rule in 2011.

But the military has disputed the result, filing complaints at the Supreme Court against the president and the chair of the electoral commission.

Fears of a coup rose after the military recently threatened to "take action" over alleged fraud. The election commission has rejected the allegations.

Who is Aung San Suu Kyi?

Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of Myanmar's independence hero, General Aung San. He was assassinated when she was only two years old, just before Myanmar gained independence from British colonial rule in 1948.

Ms Suu Kyi was once seen as a beacon for human rights - a principled activist who gave up her freedom to challenge the ruthless army generals who ruled Myanmar for decades.

In 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, while still under house arrest, and hailed as "an outstanding example of the power of the powerless".

Ms Suu Kyi spent nearly 15 years in detention between 1989 and 2010.

In November 2015 she led the National League for Democracy (NLD) to a landslide victory in Myanmar's first openly contested election for 25 years.

The Myanmar constitution forbids her from becoming president because she has children who are foreign nationals. But Ms Suu Kyi, now 75, is widely seen as de facto leader.

But since becoming Myanmar's state counsellor, her leadership has been defined by the treatment of the country's mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.

In 2017 hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh due to an army crackdown sparked by deadly attacks on police stations in Rakhine state.

Ms Suu Kyi's former international supporters accused her of doing nothing to stop rape, murder and possible genocide by refusing to condemn the still powerful military or acknowledge accounts of atrocities.

A few initially argued that she was a pragmatic politician, trying to govern a multi-ethnic country with a complex history.

But her personal defence of the army's actions at the International Court of Justice hearing in 2019 in the Hague was seen as a new turning point that obliterated what little remained of her international reputation.

At home, however, "the Lady", as Ms Suu Kyi is known, remains wildly popular among the Buddhist majority who hold little sympathy for the Rohingya.

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2021-02-01 00:02:00Z
52781337950393

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi 'detained by military', NLD party says - BBC News

Reuters

Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Myanmar's governing National League for Democracy (NLD) party, has been arrested, the spokesman for the party said.

It comes amid tensions between the civilian government and the military, stoking fears of a coup.

At elections in November, the NLD won enough seats to form a government, but the army says the vote was fraudulent.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, was ruled by the military until 2011. Ms Suu Kyi spent many years under house arrest.

The newly elected lower house of parliament was due to convene for the first time on Monday but the military was calling for a postponement.

The BBC's South East Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head, says there are soldiers on the streets of the capital, Naypyitaw, and the main city, Yangon.

NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt told the Reuters news agency by phone that Ms Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other leaders had been "taken" in the early hours of the morning.

"I want to tell our people not to respond rashly and I want them to act according to the law," he said, adding he also expected to be detained.

• Aung San Suu Kyi: Democracy icon who fell from grace
• What you need to know about the Rohingya crisis

Telephone and internet lines in Naypyitaw have been cut, the BBC's Burmese Service reports.

Soldiers also visited the homes of chief ministers in several regions and took them away, family members said.

On Saturday Myanmar's armed forces promised to abide by the constitution as concerns grew that they were preparing to stage a coup.

What happened in the election?

The NLD won 83% of available seats in the 8 November election in what many saw as a referendum on Ms Suu Kyi's civilian government.

It was just the second election since the end of military rule in 2011.

But the military has disputed the result, filing complaints at the Supreme Court against the president and the chair of the electoral commission.

Fears of a coup rose after the military recently threatened to "take action" over alleged fraud. The election commission has rejected the allegations.

Who is Aung San Suu Kyi?

Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of Myanmar's independence hero, General Aung San. He was assassinated when she was only two years old, just before Myanmar gained independence from British colonial rule in 1948.

Ms Suu Kyi was once seen as a beacon for human rights - a principled activist who gave up her freedom to challenge the ruthless army generals who ruled Myanmar for decades.

In 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, while still under house arrest, and hailed as "an outstanding example of the power of the powerless".

Ms Suu Kyi spent nearly 15 years in detention between 1989 and 2010.

In November 2015 she led the National League for Democracy (NLD) to a landslide victory in Myanmar's first openly contested election for 25 years.

The Myanmar constitution forbids her from becoming president because she has children who are foreign nationals. But Ms Suu Kyi, now 75, is widely seen as de facto leader.

But since becoming Myanmar's state counsellor, her leadership has been defined by the treatment of the country's mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.

In 2017 hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh due to an army crackdown sparked by deadly attacks on police stations in Rakhine state.

Ms Suu Kyi's former international supporters accused her of doing nothing to stop rape, murder and possible genocide by refusing to condemn the still powerful military or acknowledge accounts of atrocities.

A few initially argued that she was a pragmatic politician, trying to govern a multi-ethnic country with a complex history.

But her personal defence of the army's actions at the International Court of Justice hearing in 2019 in the Hague was seen as a new turning point that obliterated what little remained of her international reputation.

At home, however, "the Lady", as Ms Suu Kyi is known, remains wildly popular among the Buddhist majority who hold little sympathy for the Rohingya.

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2021-01-31 23:37:00Z
52781337950393

Navalny protests: Something is shifting in Russia - and Putin is facing a huge internal challenge he hates - Sky News

This last day of January deserves a mark in the history of Putin's Russia.

More people were detained this Sunday in the latest round of anti-Putin protests - in excess of 5,000 at the time of writing - than at any other point in Vladimir Putin's 21 year rule.

It is a measure both of the Russian president's power and his paranoia that he cannot allow peaceful protest in the name of his arch-nemesis, Alexei Navalny, and that his police will use batons, brute force and stun guns against entirely peaceful protesters.

Image: A man being detained by riot police

Our first interviewee was detained as he was talking to us.

He'd just finished explaining why it was important to come out despite the threat.

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"Alexei Navalny is the only guy who can do something for our people and I'm sad that not more people appreciate that," he said.

I asked him why he thought they didn't.

More from Alexei Navalny

"I think the main reason is fear. But if we don't come out now it will only get worse."

Then he was snatched away. Only a handful of people were standing around. The rally was not due to start for another hour.

Image: Riot police blocking the streets at Matrosskaya Tishina prison, where Navalny is being held

Waiting to speak to us was a man I recognised from the demonstrations the week before.

Valery Zhukov had been filming us then on a tiny camera and he was back.

He wanted to tell me how Russia under Putin was a paragon of freedom. He said that Navalny had been "resting" in Germany, rather than lying in a novichok-induced coma.

He claimed the man I'd just spoken to was a liability because he was carrying a Russian flag.

"He could have burned it," he said.

"Or waved it," I replied.

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Navalny: Protesters 'hauled off by police'

Whether he was a paid, pro-Kremlin blogger or just a convinced Putin loyalist, that short exchange highlights a long-standing and much discussed national divide.

For all those fired up by Navalny's outrage at the corruption of the elites, there are many if not far more who believe what they see on state TV and who prefer stability to any change of the status quo.

The question is whether that dynamic is shifting and how marginal the difference made.

Never have I seen so many police on Moscow's streets. Nor the centre of the city completely blocked to pedestrian traffic.

Police seemed to vastly outnumber protesters, perhaps because crowds could never gather in one place before being dispersed.

Image: Navalny is a longstanding critic of Putin

Stun guns were entirely unnecessary but they were used. Journalists were targeted too. Russia's police force have not quite adopted the Belarusian modus operandi of snatch-squads on the streets and torture in the police stations but they're heading there.

"Release these people, this is ridiculous!" a man yelled at a row of police vans where detainees stood in lines being frisked.

"Police power is not forever."

Nor is Putin's power.

This is a huge internal challenge, just the kind he hates. It will hardly unseat him. But despite the leeway of the law at his disposal, something is shifting - accelerated by the internet quicksands - which repression may not be able to control.

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2021-01-31 21:19:29Z
52781333856309

Russia protests - live: More than 1,500 Navalny supporters detained as police close central Moscow - The Independent

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1. Russia protests - live: More than 1,500 Navalny supporters detained as police close central Moscow  The Independent
2. Live: White House blanketed in snow as winter weather hits Washington DC  The Independent
3. Police use batons as thousands join fresh Navalny protests across Russia  The Sun
4. Alexei Navalny arrest: Sanctioning Putin's cronies is the only way to force change in Russia  USA TODAY
5. Alexei Navalny wants Biden to sanction Putin’s cronies  Washington Post
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2021-01-31 15:49:00Z
52781333856309

Wuhan wet market linked to original coronavirus outbreak probed by UN team - Daily Record

A UN health team probing the origins of coronavirus have visited a seafood market in the Chinese city of Wuhan that was linked with early infections.

The inspectors from the World Health Organisation (WHO) spent around an hour at the Huanan Seafood Market.

One of the team gave a thumbs up sign when reporters asked how the trip was going.

The market was the site of a December 2019 outbreak of the virus.

Scientists initially suspected the virus came from wild animals sold in the market.

The market has since been largely ruled out but it could provide hints to how the virus spread so widely.

Read More

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"Very important site visits today - a wholesale market first at Huanan Seafood Market just now," Peter Daszak, a zoologist with the US group EcoHealth Alliance and a member of the WHO team, said in a tweet.

"Very informative & critical for our joint teams to understand the epidemiology of COVID as it started to spread at the end of 2019."

Earlier in the day, the team members were also seen walking through sections of the Baishazhou market - one of the largest wet markets in Wuhan - surrounded by a large entourage of Chinese officials and representatives.

The market was the food distribution centre for Wuhan during the city's 76-day lockdown last year.

The members, with expertise in veterinary medicine, virology, food safety and epidemiology, have so far visited two hospitals at the centre of the early outbreak - Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital and the Hubei Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital.

On Saturday, they also visited a museum exhibition dedicated to the early history of Covid-19.

The mission has become politically charged, as China seeks to avoid blame for alleged missteps in its early response to the outbreak.

A single visit by scientists is unlikely to confirm the virus's origins.

Top news stories today

Pinning down an outbreak's animal reservoir is typically an exhaustive endeavour that takes years of research, including taking animal samples, genetic analysis and epidemiological studies.

One possibility is that a wildlife poacher might have passed the virus to traders who carried it to Wuhan.

The Chinese government has promoted theories, with little evidence, that the outbreak might have started with imports of frozen seafood tainted with the virus, a notion roundly rejected by international scientists and agencies.

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2021-01-31 11:27:00Z
52781339436607

COVID-19: Health experts visit Wuhan wet market as they investigate coronavirus origin - Sky News

Experts from the World Health Organisation looking into the origins of coronavirus have visited a wet market that provides food for the Chinese city of Wuhan.

The WHO team members were seen walking through sections of the Baishazhou market - one of the largest wet markets in Wuhan - surrounded by a large entourage of Chinese officials and representatives.

The market was the main food distribution centre for Wuhan during its lockdown.

Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world

The long-awaited probe comes after months of negotiations between the WHO and Beijing and the group of 10 scientists is hoping to interview people from research institutes, hospitals and the seafood market linked to the initial outbreak.

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But the mission has become politically charged, as China seeks to avoid blame for alleged missteps in its early response to the outbreak.

COVID-19 was first detected in Wuhan in central China in late 2019.

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The country faced a public relations catastrophe in the early months of the outbreak as it attempted to cover up rising numbers of infections, while at the same time setting up temporary hospitals.

Image: Patients infected with COVID-19 are seen at the Jianghan makeshift hospital in Wuhan

The WHO members, with expertise in veterinarian practices, virology, food safety and epidemiology, have so far also visited two hospitals at the centre of the early outbreak: Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital and the Hubei Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital.

On Saturday, they visited a museum exhibition dedicated to the early history of COVID-19. They also plan to visit more hospitals and markets like the Huanan Seafood Market, which was linked to many of the first cases.

However, a single visit by scientists is unlikely to confirm the origins of the virus.

Pinning down an outbreak's animal reservoir is typically an exhaustive endeavour that takes years of research including taking animal samples, genetic analysis and epidemiological studies.

One possibility is that a wildlife poacher might have passed the virus to traders who carried it to Wuhan.

The Chinese government has promoted theories, with little evidence, that the outbreak might have started with imports of frozen seafood tainted with the virus, a notion roundly rejected by international scientists and agencies.

A possible focus for investigators is the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which built an archive of genetic information about bat coronaviruses after the 2003 outbreak of SARS - severe acute respiratory syndrome.

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2021-01-31 10:39:16Z
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Putin's childhood judo partner claims to own £1bn palace linked to Russian leader - Sky News

Russian businessman Arkady Rotenberg has said on he owns a £1bn Black Sea palace which jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has linked to President Vladimir Putin.

The anti-corruption campaigner and his supporters have published a video of the luxury mansion and estate, which they claim belongs to the Russian leader, and has been viewed more than 103 million times.

Mr Navalny has dubbed it "Putin's biggest secret".

Image: Vladimir Putin has denied ownership of the Black Sea palace. Pic: YouTube/Alexei Navalny

Image: A view of the estate - complete with helicopter pad. Pic: YouTube/Alexei Navalny

Mr Rotenberg, a former judo partner of Mr Putin who sold his stake in a gas pipeline construction firm in 2019 for a reported $990m (£722m), said he bought the palace two years ago.

Speaking in a video, Mr Rotenberg said: "Now it will no longer be a secret, I am the beneficiary.

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"There was a rather complicated facility, there were a lot of creditors, and I managed to become the beneficiary."

Image: Vladimir Putin and businessman Arkady Rotenberg are long-time friends

He gave no further financial details of the sale or how it had been funded.

Mr Putin has denied ownership of the palace.

Mr Navalny was detained earlier this month for alleged parole violation, which he claims are trumped up.

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He was arrested after flying back to Moscow from Germany where he had been recovering from a nerve agent poisoning last August.

Following his arrest thousands of people have taken part in unauthorised protests across Russia to demand his release, with more planned.

The authorities have said the demonstrations are illegal and have vowed to break them up.

Mr Rotenberg was among the Russian officials and business executives blacklisted by the US and other western countries in the aftermath of Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in March 2014.

Analysis: Putin's old pals rally round in times of need

By Diana Magnay, Moscow correspondent

There has been a concerted effort to defuse Alexei Navalny's "Putin's Palace" investigation ahead of another round of protests this weekend.

First tours of the property to pro-Kremlin media, billed as scoops, showing it to be very much a construction site and now Arkady Rotenberg's claim of ownership.

Little could be more emblematic of the way President Vladimir Putin's circle of old pals rally round in times of need.

The entire premise of the investigation by the jailed anti-corruption campaigner and Kremlin critic is to show how Mr Putin's wealth is essentially gratitude cash paid into complex financial structures in lieu of generous state contracts by the friends and allies from days of old.

Mr Rotenberg is famously the Russian leader's childhood judo sparring partner.

In 2015 he was dubbed by Russian Forbes "the king of state orders".

His company was responsible for building the bridge to Crimea, following its illegal annexation by Russia - the prestige construction project of the past decade.

Image: Vladimir Putin (centre) and Arkady Rotenberg (left) visit the construction of the bridge to Crimea

Now it seems the grandiose property near the Black Sea resort of Gelendzhik, which Mr Putin insists has nothing to do with him, represents a new foray for Mr Rotenberg into luxury hotels.

With a £1bn pound price tag it's expensive, even for him.

The fact that it is still under construction does not contradict Mr Navalny's investigation which says that furnishings were torn out and building restarted because of mould and design flaws almost a decade ago.

But the assurances on state TV that this palace is in fact destined to be a hotel, and belongs to one of the few men in Russia who can afford it, is designed to calm the suspicions of millions, who might feel that their president is enriching himself at their expense.

Such is the power of state propaganda that those who watch - an older demographic but still very much the majority - will likely end up believing it.

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2021-01-31 09:49:32Z
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WHO team visits Wuhan food market as part of Covid investigation | ITV News - ITV News

A World Health Organisation (WHO) team looking into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic have visited a market known to be the food distribution centre for the Chinese city of Wuhan during its lockdown.

The team members were seen walking through sections of the Baishazhou market – one of the largest wet markets in Wuhan – surrounded by a large entourage of Chinese officials and representatives.

The members, with expertise in veterinarian, virology, food safety and epidemiology, have so far visited two hospitals at the centre of the early outbreak: Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital and the Hubei Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital.

On Saturday, they also visited a museum exhibition dedicated to the early history of Covid-19.

Security personnel use barriers to block the way after the World Health Organization team arrive at the Baishazhou wholesale market. Credit: AP

The WHO said on Twitter the team planned to visit hospitals and markets like the Huanan Seafood Market, which was linked to many of the first cases.

They also listed the Wuhan Institute of Virology and laboratories at facilities including the Wuhan Centre for Disease Control as places they intended to visit.

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The mission has become politically charged, as China seeks to avoid blame for alleged missteps in its early response to the outbreak.

A single visit by scientists is unlikely to confirm the origins of the virus.

Peter Ben Embarek of the WHO team passes by a Chinese police officer as he leaves in a convoy from the Baishazhou wholesale market. Credit: AP

Pinning down an outbreak’s animal reservoir is typically an exhaustive endeavour that takes years of research including taking animal samples, genetic analysis and epidemiological studies.

One possibility is that a wildlife poacher might have passed the virus to traders who carried it to Wuhan.

The Chinese government has promoted theories, with little evidence, that the outbreak might have started with imports of frozen seafood tainted with the virus, a notion roundly rejected by international scientists and agencies.

A possible focus for investigators is the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which built an archive of genetic information about bat coronaviruses after the 2003 outbreak of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome.

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2021-01-31 07:49:00Z
52781339436607

Joe Biden given ‘one-finger salute’ by Brussels as EU sides with China - Daily Express

Joe Biden: Expert discusses plan to 'put pressure' on China

President Biden’s election marked the beginning of a new era in international relations for the US. He has already signalled a major departure from his predecessor Donald Trump through his first executive orders. He has chosen to rejoin the international Paris Agreement on climate change and promised to try to bring the US and Iran into compliance over the 2015 nuclear deal.

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Downing Street is also holding its breath for a trade deal with the States now that the UK is completely out of the EU.

However, as Mr Biden’s close friend and former President Barack Obama noted before the EU referendum, “our focus is in negotiating with a big bloc, the European Union, to get a trade agreement”.

Mr Obama, who chose Mr Biden to be his Vice President, also claimed: “The UK is going to be back of the queue.”

Yet, the post-Brexit relationship between the US and the EU already appears to be on unsteady ground.

The bloc chose to sign an investment deal with China at the end of last year before the Biden administration was even in office.

European exports were pulled to China’s large market, overriding objections from the White House to wait or to consider the nation’s divisive approach to the Uighurs or democracy in Hong Kong.

Europe correspondent, Matt Karnitschnig, claimed that this deal with China implies the bloc is not intent on building a relationship with the US in a piece entitled, ‘Europe gives US President Joe Biden a one-finger salute’.

Writing in POLITICO, he explained: “Biden, a dyed-in-the-wool transatlanticist [sic], pushed all the right buttons, stroking the Continent’s bruised ego after four years of relentless abuse.”

Joe Biden given ‘one-finger salute’ by Brussels as EU sides with China (Image: Getty)

Biden with President Xi in 2013 (Image: Getty)

But, Mr Karnitschnig said: “Given the opportunity in recent weeks to show the Biden administration it was serious about geostrategic collaboration, Europe opted instead to show Washington the finger.”

He claimed that “what worries Washington is that Europe is walking into a trap with its eyes wide open” by going into an alliance with China, one of the US’ largest rivals.

Former aide to George W Bush, Peter Rough, even claimed in a report last week that China has a “long-term strategy of turning Europe into an unwitting network of Chinese tributary states” by appealing to the continent in “language crafted for Western ears”.

He added: “The master strategists behind it envision Europe as a Switzerland-on-steroids: economically relevant but politically non-aligned.”

It is a stark contrast to the future envisioned by the Biden administration.

Speaking back on December 2 about his White House plans, Mr Biden said: “The best China strategy, I think, is one which gets every one of our — or at least what used to be our — allies on the same page.

“It’s going to be a major priority for me in the opening weeks of my presidency to try and get us back on the same page with our allies."

READ MORE: EU ridiculed by Moderna CEO for slow deliveries before AstraZeneca row

Biden was looking to establish a common policy among the US allies towards China (Image: Getty)

The nations involved with the climate change pact, the Paris Agreement (Image: Express)

The EU had already sent a note to the Biden administration in search of a common strategy on the growing superpower from the East at the time, according to reports.

The bombshell news that the bloc had finally forged an investment deal with Beijing after seven years of negotiations on December 30, therefore threatened EU-US relations.

However, Brussels fought back and claimed that the US needs the EU to be a geopolitical force in its own right.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on the day of Mr Biden’s inauguration that, “The United States is back, and Europe stands ready” — despite signing the China deal just weeks before.

Foreign German foreign minister and vice chancellor Sigmar Gabriel told Bloomberg, that it “may be seen as more of a strategic, autonomous approach towards China” but that there is “enough room to maneuver to join hands” for a common strategy on Beijing.

This seems increasingly unlikely, especially in the wake of the comments from the White House press secretary Jen Psaki last week.

She said: “Beijing is now challenging our security, prosperity and values in significant ways that require a new US approach.”

Writing in The Atlantic, journalist Tom McTague explained how the trade deal was an even greater insult to the US that it initially appeared.

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Boris Johnson on the phone to Biden (Image: Number10 Downing Street Flickr)

President Xi, President Macron and Chancellor Merkel with EU leaders for the deal (Image: Getty)

He said: “The continent that the US fought two wars to free, paid to rebuild and has spent 75 years protecting at great, uneven, and continuing cost is now striking deals behind its back with its main strategic rival.

“Some ally.”

However, Mr McTague added that there is another distasteful element within this deal and unmasks “not European strength, but weakness”.

He speculated that Brexit may have proven the EU “is strong and united enough to be a pain for its erstwhile imperial overlord, but not yet strong enough to strike out completely on its own”.

Mr Biden then appeared to prioritise Britain over Europe when he decided to call Prime Minister Boris Johnson first out of the European leaders, after his inauguration.

However, while the UK said the leaders did discuss the “benefits of a potential free-trade deal” during the momentous phone call, although the US did include any mention of an international agreement.

China 'reinforcing tensions with US in South Sea' says expert

President Xi Jinping secured an investment deal with the EU in December (Image: Express)

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This deflated early hopes of a US-UK contract being on the horizon.

Mr Biden has also expressed his determination to focus on the US first.

He told the New York Times: “I want to make sure we’re going to fight like hell by investing in America first.”

He added: “I am not going to enter any new trade agreement with anybody until we have made major investments here at home and in our workers and in education.”

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2021-01-30 20:21:00Z
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