Ukraine: At least 22 people including military cadets were killed and two others were seriously injured on Friday when a Ukrainian air force plane crashed near Kharkiv in the east of the country, the interior ministry said.

Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko confirmed the death toll to AFP, describing the incident as a “shock”, and saying that the cause of the crash was being investigated.

Footage of the crash released by officials on social media showed the smouldering remains of the Antonov-26 transport plane.

“Most of [the dead] were students” of the Kharkiv National Air Force University, the air force said in a statement.

There were 27 people on board, 20 cadets and seven crew, it added.  Twenty-two have been confirmed dead, two are injured and “the search for three more people continues”, the emergency services said.

The injured are in a “critical” condition, regional governor Oleksiy Kucher said on Facebook.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the crash as a “terrible tragedy” and said he would travel to the Kharkiv region on Saturday. 

“We are urgently creating a commission to investigate all the circumstances and causes of the tragedy,” he wrote on Facebook.

In photos released by the emergency services, firefighters in helmets and reflective clothing sprayed aircraft debris with jets of water.

Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman made a rare address to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, using the moment to highlight the foundational notions of his regime his steadfast commitment to the Palestinians, his stature as custodian of Islam’s holiest sites and his assertion that Iran is responsible for much of the region’s instability.

The prerecorded speech to world leaders suggested that the 84-year-old king, who delivers only a handful of public remarks each year, retains oversight of high-level policies despite the immense powers amassed by his son, the crown prince.

In delivering his remarks, he became only the second Saudi king to deliver a speech to the world assembly. The first was his late brother, King Saud, in 1957 at UN headquarters in New York. And like his brother’s speech 63 years prior, King Salman noted the sacred role of Islam in Saudi Arabia and the importance that entails.

We in the kingdom, due to our position in the Muslim world, bear a special and historic responsibility to protect our tolerant Islamic faith from attempts by terrorist organisations and extremist groups to pervert it, Salman said.

He emphasised at the top of his speech that he was speaking from the birthplace of Islam, the home of its revelation a reference to the Muslim belief that the word of God was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad some 1,400 years ago in the mountainous caves of Mecca.

Those words carry political undertones as well. Saudi rivals Turkey and Iran also profess to champion Muslim causes worldwide as part of a broader struggle for leadership of Muslims globally.

The king oversees a nation that is the Arab world’s biggest economy and the planet’s most prolific oil producer. Saudi Arabia has long been a close US ally in the region and a strategic partner, though some in American politics worry where the relationship will go in coming years given the unpredictability of the brash Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Reading from a piece of paper and seated at a desk under a large portrait of his father, King Abdulaziz, the current monarch reiterated his support for Palestinian statehood as a prerequisite for recognition of Israel.

He said the Arab Peace Initiative, which offers Israel full ties with Arab states in exchange for concessions that lead to a Palestinian state, provides a basis for resolving the region’s longest-running conflict.

That 2002 initiative stands in stark contrast to the White House’s Middle East Peace plan, which has been rejected outright by the Palestinians as one-sided in favour of Israel.

The king made no mention of recent deals struck by neighbouring United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to formalise ties with Israel. The agreements were brokered by the Trump administration and branded by the Palestinians as acts of betrayal.

Despite the appearance Wednesday that Salman was in control of major policies, there are indications that change is already underway with Israel under the guidance of the crown prince. The divergent messages on the possibility of Saudi ties with Israel reflect what analysts call a generational divide between the world views of the prince and the king.

Salman hails from an era of leadership that holds with high regard the ideals of pan-Arab and pan-Islamic multilateralism. He was born just four years after his father founded the country by unifying tribes and establishing control over the western Hijaz region, where Mecca is located.

He also witnessed the country’s oil-fueled transformation, and as the governor of Riyadh helped to turn the desert capital into a city teeming with skyscrapers, highways, universities and malls. His reign marks the final chapter of power being passed from brother to brother from among the sons of King Abdelaziz as a new generation prepares for the throne.

The crown prince, on the other hand, reflects a cohort of younger Gulf Arab rulers whose policies prioritize national interests and greater self-reliance. He’s pushed for localising the production of defense equipment, transforming the economy to be less dependent on oil exports and overseen efforts to supplant a religiously conservative Saudi identity with one rooted in hyper-nationalism.

King Salman has backed his son by elevating him from near obscurity and handing him day-to-day decision making powers. He’s stood by him amid the protracted Yemen war, international fallout from the killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 and as Prince Mohammed moved to crackdown on dissidents, businessmen and sideline more experienced and senior royals in the line of succession.

It’s unclear how much the king knows about controversies, such as the November 2017 debacle with then-Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, whom top Lebanese officials at the time said had been forced to resign and was being held in Saudi Arabia against his will before France’s president personally intervened.

What was clear as Salman spoke Wednesday, though, was that his nation’s views on nearby Iran remained unwavering. He blamed Iran for targeting Saudi oil facilities with missiles and drones last year, saying: It demonstrated that this regime has total disregard for the stability of the global economy or stability of oil supplies to international markets.

The activists chanted slogans such as ‘Return Nepal’s land’ and ‘stop Chinese expansionism’ it said.

KATHMANDU: A civil society group in Nepal has launched protests against China for allegedly constructing buildings on the country’s territory in Humla district, according to media reports on Wednesday.

The activists chanted slogans such as “Return Nepal’s land” and “stop Chinese expansionism,” it said.

According to media reports here, China has allegedly constructed 11 buildings on the Nepalese territory in the Humla district bordering Tibet.

The disputed area lies in Lampcha village of Namkha Rural Municipality in Humla district.

Beijing has maintained that the constructions were carried out on the Chinese side of the border.

The reports also said that Pillar Number 11 that defined the Nepal-China boundary was missing from the area.

“There was just a hut in the area in 2005,” Dattaraj Hamal, assistant chief district officer of Humla who visited the disputed area recently, was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post. “I talked to the people there and reported to the chief district officer,” Hamal said.

“e in turn reported to the Home Ministry.

He now has gone to the area as per the Home Ministry’s instructions.

” Chakka Bahadur Lama, a Member of Parliament from Humla, said that as long as both sides do not ascertain the location of the missing pillar, the dispute will continue.

On Tuesday, a Nepalese delegation led by Chief District Officer of Humla had reached the area to talk to Chinese officials, My Republica reported.

However, the Chinese security personnel had returned them saying that the land falls on the Chinese side of the border, the paper added.

During a meeting between the two sides in 2015, Nepal and China had agreed to ascertain the location of the missing pillar, but no steps were taken on the matter, the paper said, citing Paljor Tamang, chair of Ward No 6 of the rural municipality where the disputed area lies.

Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu refuted the allegations and said the buildings were constructed on the Chinese side of the border.

“The government of China has conducted necessary investigation into the matter and the Nepal government can also do so if needed,” said a statement issued by the embassy.

“China and Nepal have no territorial disputes.

The two sides have always maintained close communication on border affairs,” the statement said.

“China and Nepal are friendly neighbours. China has always respected Nepal’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

WASHINGTON: The US has the most powerful weapons ever produced and is the envy of the world, President Donald Trump has said, hoping that he will never have to use them, as he vowed to keep America out of “endless, ridiculous and stupid” foreign wars.

Trump said for decades, American politicians spent trillions of dollars rebuilding foreign nations, fighting foreign wars that never ended, and defending foreign borders.

“Instead of endless war, we are forging peace in the Middle East, it’s so great. Peace in the Middle East,” he said.

“We will strike down terrorists who threaten our citizens and we will keep America out of endless, ridiculous, stupid foreign wars,” he said at an election rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night.

“I am just telling you the most powerful weapons ever produced we have and other countries know that and it’s a good thing that they know it and I don’t think we will ever be using them and I hope we don’t, I hope to God,” Trump said.

The president said by saying so, he was not leaking any classified information.

He said he was allowed to speak about it because he is the president of the United States.

Trump said that he has rebuilt the US military.

“It was totally depleted when I took over. We built a military, USD 2.5 trillion we spent all made in the US saying, the greatest equipment, the greatest planes and rockets and missiles and our nuclear,” he said.

“I hate to even mention the word and hope to God we never have to use that. We have the most powerful weapons in the history of the world and we do that over a very short period of time, weapons that are so powerful that we are the envy of the world,” Trump said.

He said that he hopes that he will never have to use those weapons.

“I never want to use those weapons and hopefully we will never have to. You know the way you don’t have to use them is when you have them, it’s when you have them but nobody has ever built a force like what we have,” he said.

Trump said that he gets along with world leaders very well.

“My father taught me, he said if you can win and spend less money that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. That’s a good thing, not a bad thing, like if you get along with the leaders of other lands and don’t go to war all the time with everybody and can come out on top without having to shed blood all over the place and destroy your families and your country,” Trump said.

“Like when I get along with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, when I get along with (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un. Whatever happened to the war we were supposed to be in with North Korea? Nothing happened.

“They said I gave away so much. I said what did I give away? They couldn’t find anything. I didn’t do anything,” he said.

The authors reviewed these seasonal viruses, examining the viral and host factors that control their seasonality as well as the latest knowledge on the stability and transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

WASHINGTON: COVID-19, the illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, will likely become seasonal in countries with temperate climates, but only when herd immunity is attained, suggests a new review published in Frontiers in Public Health.

Until that time, COVID-19 will continue to circulate across the seasons. These conclusions highlight the absolute importance of public health measures needed just now to control the virus.

“COVID-19 is here to stay and it will continue to cause outbreaks year-round until herd immunity is achieved. Therefore, the public will need to learn to live with it and continue practicing the best prevention measures, including wearing of masks, physical distancing, hand hygiene and avoidance of gatherings,” said senior author of the study Dr. Hassan Zaraket, of the American University of Beirut in Lebanon.

Collaborating author Dr. Hadi Yassine, of Qatar University in Doha, affirms and states that there could be multiple waves of COVID-19 before herd immunity is achieved.

We know that many respiratory viruses follow seasonal patterns, especially in temperate regions. For instance, influenza and several types of coronaviruses that cause common cold are known to peak in winter in temperate regions but circulate year-round in tropical regions.

The authors reviewed these seasonal viruses, examining the viral and host factors that control their seasonality as well as the latest knowledge on the stability and transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

The researchers explain that virus survival in the air and on surfaces, people’s susceptibility to infections, and human behaviors, such as indoor crowding, differ across the seasons due to changes in temperature and humidity. These factors influence transmission of respiratory viruses at different times of the year.

However, in comparison to other respiratory viruses such as the flu, COVID-19 has a higher rate of transmission (R0), at least partly due to circulation in a largely immunologically naive population.

This means that unlike the flu and other respiratory viruses, the factors governing seasonality of viruses cannot yet halt the spread of COVID-19 in the summer months. But, once herd immunity is attained through natural infections and vaccinations, the R0 should drop substantially, making the virus more susceptible to seasonal factors.

Such seasonality has been reported for other coronaviruses, including those that emerged more recently such as NL63 and HKU1, which follow the same circulation pattern like influenza.

“This remains a novel virus and despite the fast-growing body of science about it there are still things that are unknown. Whether our predictions hold true or not remains to be seen in the future. But we think it’s highly likely, given what we know so far, COVID-19 will eventually become seasonal, like other coronaviruses,” adds Zaraket.

“The highest global COVID-19 infection rate per capita was recorded in the Gulf states, regardless of the hot summer season. Although this is majorly attributed to the rapid virus spread in closed communities, it affirms the need for rigorous control measures to limit virus spread, until herd immunity is achieved,” Dr. Yassine said.