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Joe Biden has vowed his administration will “declassify” as much information about the origins of COVID-19 as possible – including any potential links to a Chinese research lab.

Having ordered intelligence agencies including the FBI to investigate where the virus came from in 2021, the US president has now signed legislation that requires any details uncovered to be made public.

“We need to get to the bottom of COVID-19‘s origins to help ensure we can better prevent future pandemics,” he said.

Mr Biden’s bill, which he said would only limit the sharing of any information that “would harm national security”, comfortably passed through both the Senate and House of Representatives.

Any relevant documents must be published within 90 days of the bill being signed.

It comes after FBI director Christopher Wray revealed the agency thought the virus “most likely” came from a Chinese laboratory leak.

He said Beijing – which has consistently rejected that assessment – was “doing its best to try to thwart and obfuscate” international efforts to learn more about the pandemic’s origins.

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The US Energy Department has also reportedly assessed with low confidence that the pandemic resulted from an unintended lab leak in China.

COVID-19 first emerged in the city of Wuhan in late 2019, before being declared a pandemic in early 2020, causing countries around the world to go into lockdowns.

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Mr Biden said: “My administration will continue to review all classified information relating to COVID-19’s origins, including potential links to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”

The World Health Organisation’s official position, according to a 2021 report, is that it is “extremely unlikely” the virus came from the Wuhan lab – but did not completely rule it out.

It said the most likely explanation was that the virus originated in a bat before crossing to an intermediary animal and then jumping to humans.

A recent study linked the virus to raccoon dogs at a Wuhan market.

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India: Newborn babies killed in fire at hospital in Delhi after ‘chain of explosions’

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India: Newborn babies killed in fire at hospital in Delhi after 'chain of explosions'

At least six newborn babies have died after a fire broke out at a children’s hospital in India, according to reports.

Firefighters said they carried 12 newborns out of the centre in the Vivek Vihar district of east New Delhi late on Saturday night, but five of them died due to smoke inhalation.

Two other infants are believed to have already died, according to local media. There are differing reports as to whether six or seven infants have been killed so far.

Another five survived and are being treated in a nearby hospital, Delhi fire department chief Atul Garg said.

The blaze, which broke out on the first floor of the hospital, was put out after about an hour.

Burnt registration cards lie on the floor of a baby care center in New Delhi, India, Sunday, May 26, 2024. A fire broke out in the care center on Saturday night killing six infants, a fire service officer said on Sunday. (AP Photo/Dinesh Joshi)
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Burnt registration cards lie on the floor of the hospital. Pic: AP

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Mr Garg told the ANI news agency that an oxygen cylinder blast was the likely cause of the fire, but there has been no official confirmation.

“It was a very tough operation,” he was quoted as saying by India Today.

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“We made two teams. One team started firefighting because there was a blast of cylinders. We can say it was a chain of blasts of cylinders.

“We had to save ourselves also. We started rescue operations for babies as well. Unfortunately, we could not save all the children… That is a regrettable incident.”

The owner of the baby hospital has fled, according to Delhi police.

Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi’s chief minister, called the fire “heartbreaking”, adding that the “causes of the incident are being investigated and whoever is responsible for this negligence will not be spared”.

Machines move the debris following a fire in a gaming zone in Rajkot, in the western state of Gujarat, India, May 26, 2024. REUTERS/Amit Dave
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Machines move debris after a fire in Rajkot. Pic: Reuters

Earlier on Saturday, at least 27 people were killed in a fire at a crowded amusement park in the city of Rajkot in Gujarat state in western India.

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Russia is producing artillery shells around three times faster than Ukraine’s Western allies and for about a quarter of the cost

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Russia is producing artillery shells around three times faster than Ukraine's Western allies and for about a quarter of the cost

Russia is producing artillery shells around three times faster than Ukraine’s Western allies and for about a quarter of the cost, according to an analysis shared with Sky News.

The figures, produced by the management consulting firm Bain & Company, underline a major challenge faced by the Ukrainian armed forces as they rely on supplies of ammunition from the United States and Europe to battle Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The war has been described from the start as a “battle of fires” because of the volume of artillery rounds used.

It prompted the US, the UK and other European allies to seek to ramp up production in their respective factories, but their ability to manufacture artillery rounds still lags behind Russia’s despite a combined economic strength that far outmatches Moscow’s.

As a result, Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline say for every one round they fire against Russian positions, the invading troops can launch around five shells back.

Battling against the odds, the Ukrainians say they have become skilled at trying to make every round count.

“Often, with just one, two or three shells, we can completely destroy a target,” said Senior Lieutenant Kostiantin, an artillery battery commander with the 57th Brigade, which is fighting against a new Russian invasion into the Kharkiv region, in the northeast of Ukraine.

But the commander said Ukrainian troops still need more supplies.

“We have to keep holding the Russians back… and make every metre of land they try to take cost them hundreds of lives.”

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The research on artillery rounds by Bain & Company, which drew on publicly available information, found that Russian factories were forecast to manufacture or refurbish about 4.5 million artillery shells this year compared with a combined production of about 1.3 million rounds across European nations and the US.

On cost, it said the average production cost per 155 mm shell – the type produced by NATO countries – was about $4,000 (£3,160) per unit, though it varied significantly between countries. This is compared with a reported Russian production cost of around $1,000 (£790) per 152 mm shell that the Russian armed forces use.

Artillery is only one of many munition shortfalls faced by Ukraine.

Ukrainian soldiers
Ukraine soldiers

Sky News visited a group of new recruits in the east of the country who were learning how to use an N-LAW anti-tank missile, first provided to the Ukrainian military by the UK.

They said a shortage of supplies means they just pretend to fire the weapon in training and would only use it for real when in battle – and only then there are any stocks.

“We have a lack of N-LAWs and we need more,” said a soldier with the callsign “Bolt”, who was giving the training to the new soldiers in a reconnaissance battalion of 5th Brigade.

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Asked whether he had a message for the factory workers in the UK who assembled the weapon, Bolt said: “We’d like to thank our Western partners for their help. But, if possible, we would be very grateful if they could provide more NATO munitions.”

The importance of producing weapons and ammunition is why many experts say factory production lines – rather than the frontline – could be where the war in Ukraine is won.

Sky News visited a factory in Belfast in April where the N-LAW missile is assembled by Thales, a global defence company. The weapon is designed by the Swedish firm Saab.

The assembly takes place inside a large hall containing a mixture of machines grinding metal and desks where delicate work takes place on tiny but vital components.

Working hours on the production line at the time were only four days a week from 7am until 4pm, though they were believed to be increasing.

Thales manufactures its own weapons here as well, including Starstreak, a short-range, surface-to-air missile that can take out aircraft, and the Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM). Both of these systems are also used in Ukraine.

Ukraine ammunition
Ukraine ammunition shortages

Philip McBride, the managing director of Thales Belfast, said N-LAW production capacity had doubled since the start of the year and there was scope to double it again.

Asked why the expansion only began then, when Russia’s full-scale war erupted in February 2022, he explained it was because of a number of factors.

Firstly, the UK Ministry of Defence supplies Ukraine with N-LAWs, rather than Thales directly. The missiles initially given to the Ukrainian military were those that the British armed forces already had in their own stockpiles.

“They’ve granted that and then they go through their own procurement process, agree what their actual requirement is in the UK… and once they’ve decided that, then they’ll place orders allowing us to ramp up,” Mr McBride said.

Another factor is that it can take up to two years to source the parts that are required for the N-LAW.

However, asked if production at the factory would have been expanded sooner had the Ministry of Defence put in orders earlier, the managing director said: “The earlier an order comes, the sooner we can ramp up production.”

A lot of work is going on at the plant to modernise the equipment and enable a further expansion of production lines.

The number of employees has also grown, with around 900 people now working at the site and at a second facility in Belfast, compared with just 500 a few years ago.

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Fire breaks out at amusement park in India, killing at least 24 people

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Fire breaks out at amusement park in India, killing at least 24 people

A huge fire has broken out at an amusement park in western India, leaving at least 24 people dead.

The blaze happened at the park in the city of Rajkot, with the cause of the fire being investigated.

Many children are reported to be among those who died in the catastrophe in the Gujarat state, western India.

Police Commissioner Raju Bhargava said the flames were now under control and 20 bodies had been recovered.

Flames were seen engulfing the TRP game zone and thick clouds of smoke rose into the sky.

A police official at the local civil hospital said some of the bodies were charred beyond recognition.

The scene of the fire which has left at least 20 people dead. Pic: AP
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The scene of the fire which has left at least 24 people dead. Pic: AP

The park is usually packed with families with children enjoying the school summer vacation over the weekend.

Footage showed firefighters clearing debris around collapsed tin roof structures that media reports said were used for bowling, go-karting and trampoline attractions.

Mr Bhargava said police will file a case of negligence against the owner of the park.

The city’s mayor, Nayana Pedhadiya, also vowed that action would be taken.

He said: “Our focus is on rescue operations and saving lives. We will ensure strict action is taken against the people who are responsible for this incident.”

The cause of the fire is not yet confirmed, the district’s chief fire officer said.

Some 20 bodies were recovered. Pic: AP
Image:
The scene of the fire which has left at least 24 people dead. Pic: AP

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India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X that he was “extremely distressed by the fire mishap in Rajkot”.

“My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones,” he added.

“Prayers for the injured.”

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