Multiple people are reportedly dead after a fire broke out at the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, as companies try to mass produce COVID-19 vaccines. The fire reportedly broke out Thursday at the Serum Institute in Pune City in a building reportedly under construction, killing at least five people before the blaze was extinguished, The Associated Press reported. The Mayor of Pune City, Murlidhar Mohol, told the Associated Press that the five that were found dead were “probably” construction workers. Mohol also said that the cause of the fire or the extent of the damage to the Serum Institute was not immediately clear. BREAKING: Fire hits factory belonging to Serum Institute of India, world’s largest vaccine maker; COVID-19 vaccine not affected. https://t.co/wx79GtkPB1 — The Associated Press (@AP) January 21, 2021 The CEO of the Serum Institute, Adar Poonawalla, told the Associated Press that while he was “deeply saddened” by the loss of life as a result, the company would not see reduction in production of the COVID vaccine since the company has other existing facilities. (REALTED: Supply Issue Disrupts More Than 20,000 Vaccination Appointments In NYC) Poonawalla also told the Associated Press that the

American journalists were quick to criticize former president Donald Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and his presidency overall. They were often joined by Chinese Communist Party propagandists. See if you can match each of the following ten quotes to the person who said it. (RELATED: Chinese Propaganda Outlet Has Paid US Newspapers $19 Million For Advertising Printing) “Washington enjoys political masturbation. It’s easy to point fingers and blame everything on others than facing the huge mess, failure and dysfunction at home.“ “Good Riddance, Donald Trump!“ “Donald Trump has fled the scene of the crime“ “The Chinese economy is roaring and some experts are asking whether the pandemic has tipped the global balance of power toward Beijing.” “China has avoided a massive resurgence alongside overseeing an economic revival.” “This is the most racist and ignorant US Senator I have seen. A lifetime bitch.“ “In Washington, the white seldom go to SE area, as it’s an area for the black. President Trump even demanded 4 women lawmakers of color to leave US. Out of respect for President Trump, US & the black there, please follow “America First” policy & take care of racial discrimination.” “[American] democracy’s founding ideals were false

A catastrophic shipwreck killed over 40 African migrants after embarking from the coast of Libya early Tuesday morning.   The “tragic” shipwreck is the first maritime tragedy in the Central Mediterranean of 2021 affecting migrants pursuing better lives in Europe, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. The boat reportedly capsized after migrants were attempting to leave the Libyan city of Zawra.  The Central Mediterranean route is one of the world’s most deadly migration routes, killing one in six individuals fleeing the shores of North Africa, according to Al Jazeera. Desperate families are frequently crammed into inadequately built rubber boats by smugglers which causes the ships to wreck or come apart. (RELATED: 24 People Reportedly Die After Boat Carrying Migrants Capsizes On Way To Europe)  Following another deadly shipwreck off the coast of Libya that claimed 43 lives on Monday, the UN migration and refugee agencies have called for countries to re-activate search and rescue operations.CC: @IOM @UNmigrationhttps://t.co/6rii04fQW2 — UN News (@UN_News_Centre) January 20, 2021 Coastal security forces rescued the 10 remaining survivors of the wreck, according to a joint press release from the

China’s government is facing intense scrutiny from the international community over its use of re-education camps targeting Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang. Beijing initially denied the reports but has now spent the last year defending its policies with rhetoric that sounds eerily familiar to the American left.

A massive explosion killed two people and left multiple wounded in central Madrid on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.Officials believe the explosion was caused by a gas leak, Mayor José Luis Martínez Almeida said, according to the AP. Videos and photos posted on social media depicted debris scattered across the nearby Toledo Street close to Madrid’s center. Smoke could be seen billowing from the six-story building. Martínez Almeida confirmed the deaths and injuries to reporters while he was on the scene and said a first assessment pointed to a gas leak, according to the AP. The mayor said rescuers and firefighters are experiencing increased difficulty in looking for more potential survivors due to a fire that began in the building. Leire Reparaz, 24, told AP that she had heard a deafening explosion around 3 p.m. local time as she was heading to her house close to the Puerto de Toledo, according to the AP. “We didn’t know where the sound came from. We all thought it was from the school. We went up the stairs to the top of our building and we could see the structure of the building and lots of grey smoke,” Reparaz said, according to the

Police in Italy recovered a 500-year-old copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi” painting of Jesus Christ after it was stolen in 2020 from a basilica museum in Naples without the priests realizing the painting was missing, numerous sources reported.The 16th century copy was discovered while Naples police were searching an apartment less than 5 miles from the Museum of San Domenico Maggiore while on a bigger operation, the Art Newspaper reported. The owner of the property was taken into custody under suspicion of receiving stolen goods, and reportedly gave police a “less than credible” explanation about how he bought the painting, according to the Associated Press. VIDEO: Italian police have found a 500-year-old copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi in a Naples flat and returned it to a church that had no idea it had been stolen https://t.co/mgsKmBOjh7 pic.twitter.com/ct1VWdcO23 — AFP News Agency (@AFP) January 19, 2021 The copy is modeled after da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi,” and is believed to have been painted by one of the Renaissance polymath’s students in circa 1500. It shows Christ gesturing a blessing with one hand, while holding a transparent, crystal orb with the other. It fetched a record $450 million

China’s foreign minister referred to outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as a “doomsday clown” in response to Pompeo’s announcement that the US would be labeling China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims as genocide, according to the Associated Press. Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, said Wednesday that Pompeo’s accusations of mistreatment against Uighur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region were “outright sensational pseudo-propositions and a malicious farce concocted by individual anti-China and anti-Communist forces represented by Pompeo,” the Associated Press reported. “In our view, Pompeo’s so-called designation is a piece of wastepaper. This American politician, who is notorious for lying and deceiving, is turning himself into a doomsday clown and joke of the century with his last madness and lies of the century,” said Hua. (RELATED: Chinese Spokesperson Accuses Pompeo Of ‘Lying Diplomacy,’ Says He Has Tarnished US Reputation) Tuesday’s announcement by Pompeo came on his last full day as Secretary of State and marks the first time a country has formally declared China’s treatment of the Uighurs “genocide.” “For the past four years, this Administration has exposed the nature of the Chinese Communist Party and called it what it is: a Marxist-Leninist

Chinese tech billionaire Jack Ma has finally resurfaced after a months-long disappearance, during which his companies Ant Group and Alibaba have been investigated by Chinese authorities.  Ma appeared at an online conference Wednesday to address teachers at an annual event he hosts to honor rural educators, according to Bloomberg. Ma’s whereabouts had previously been unknown since Oct. 24, when he appeared at the Bund Financial Summit in Shanghai. (RELATED: Why Aren’t We Talking More About China’s ‘Gain Of Function’ Coronavirus Research?) BREAKING: Billionaire Jack Ma resurfaced after months out of public view, addressing rural teachers in a video conference https://t.co/SgSnRDzXap pic.twitter.com/wMqH2oL40u — Bloomberg (@business) January 20, 2021 At that event, Ma criticized the economic policies of the Chinese Communist Party, saying China didn’t take enough economic risks. He also made comments critical of Chinese President Xi Jinping: “President Xi once said, ‘success does not have to hinge on me.’ I understand this saying as describing a kind of responsibility… However, real innovation must be trailblazing and undertaken by those with commitment.”  Ant Group’s $35 billion IPO was squashed by Chinese regulators in November and authorities launched a separate investigation into Alibaba for antitrust violations, both just weeks after

A high-ranking State Department official says he’s optimistic that President-elect Joe Biden will build on an overlooked Trump administration initiative that commits American allies to keep Chinese telecoms out of their networks.Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Keith Krach told the Daily Caller News Foundation that 60 countries have signed onto the Clean Network program, which prohibits high-risk Chinese vendors such as Huawei from being a part of their 5G mobile infrastructure. Krach said the Trump administration has set Biden’s team up for some early wins with the program should they choose to continue it. “The transition team’s area of interest is the Clean Network. We have multiple countries and companies lined up for them,” Krach said. “Our goal is for the incoming team to have some wins in their first few weeks after walking in the door. It’s imperative to keep the momentum going for National Security sake. If momentum is lost, a void opens and the Chinese are ready to pour in.” The Trump administration has argued that it’s not wise for countries to depend on Chinese telecom companies such as Huawei to build out their mobile infrastructure, noting that the companies would

The National Institutes of Health granted more than $3 million to non-profit Ecohealth Alliance, which funneled money to the Wuhan Institute of Virology for study of bat coronaviruses over the course of six years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NIH gave annual grants to Ecohealth from 2014 until the spring of 2020, when their relationship was terminated, NIH records show. The WIV was engaged in gain-of-function research during that time period, a dangerous and contentious scientific practice that involves making pathogens more deadly and more infectious for dual-use purposes. (RELATED: Why Aren’t We Talking More About China’s ‘Gain Of Function’ Coronavirus Research?) “Dual-use” technologies are defined as those that can be used for both peaceful and military purposes. Examples include nuclear energy, missile technology, and biomedical engineering such as GoF research. Historically, GoF work has been used not only to aid in vaccine development, but to develop bioweapons technology.  #Covid-19 READ: US Gov “has reason to believe that several researchers inside the WIV (Wuhan Institute of Virology) became sick in autumn 2019” + in 2016 Lab began research (“gain of function”) on bat virus (96.2% similar) to COVID ⁦⁦@SecPompeo⁩ https://t.co/6aa9aIPBmx — Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) January 16, 2021 From Oct.