Scientists Backtrack, Admit Proposed Virus Experiments Could Have Been Done In China Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Scientists with close ties to China and the U.S. government is now saying that risky experiments he proposed—which some experts believe could have led to the creation of SARS-CoV-2—may have been done, deviating from earlier statements. Peter Daszak, president of the EcoHealth Alliance, testifies before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in Washington, on May 1, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times) Another scientist involved in the proposal also says he doesn’t know if the work was done. “To the very best of my knowledge … the work hasn’t been done,” Peter Daszak, president of the EcoHealth Alliance, told a congressional panel this week. Mr. Daszak, however, admitted that he doesn’t know whether scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China have done the proposed experiments. “Do you know if the WIV started this work?” he was asked during a U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing in Washington. “No,” Mr. Daszak replied. “Then you can’t say that the work was not done,” Mitch Benzine, the staff director for the panel, said. “There is no evidence of the work being done. There is no evidence that WIV started it,” Mr. Daszak said. Has he ever asked Shi Zhengli, a top scientist at the WIV, whether she carried out the proposal? “No,” Mr. Daszak acknowledged. The proposal in question, dubbed Project DEFUSE, was submitted in 2018 to the U.S. government as EcoHealth and its partners, including WIV, sought to take viruses from bats, reverse engineer them, and add features. Some outside scientists say the proposed work could have led to the creation of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The Defense Advanced Research

Russian Troops Enter Air Base Hosting US Soldiers In Post-Coup Niger US diplomats and the Pentagon have been in retreat from the West African nation of Niger, while also scrambling to maintain some influence there, following the junta seizing power in a coup in July 2023. Niger’s military toppled the US-friendly government of President Mohamed Bazoum, who was taken hostage. Among the first orders of the junta was to tell US troops in the country to pack up their stuff and get out. The US is commonly estimated to have had 1,100 troops in the country. At the same time the junta is displaying its warmer relations with Russia and its forces, declaring an alliance with ‘anti-imperialist’ nations. French troops have already exited the country. On Friday there are widespread reports that Russian troops have actually entered American military bases, with US troops in the process exiting, but some still present. This is said to already be happening at Air Base 101 in Niamey, the capital city. Illustrative military file image, Getty Images. Amazingly, there’s some degree of logistical overlap as the Russians pour in and Pentagon personnel are being pressured out:  A senior U.S. defense official told Reuters that the Russian forces are not mingling with the American troops at the base, but were instead using a separate hangar. The official described the situation as being “not great” but “manageable” in the short-term. Sources similarly told CNN that the Russians and Americans are not operating in the same part of the base, but one said “it is not that big of an area.” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has sought to downplay the bizarre situation in statements issued from Hawaii. “The Russians are in a separate compound and don’t have access to U.S. forces or access to our equipment,” Austin said. “I’m always focused on the safety and protection