China
Wuhan Institute of Virology authorized to receive U.S. taxpayer funding: NIH
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) confirmed Tuesday that the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) is authorized to receive U.S. taxpayer funding for animal research through January 2024, The Daily Caller reported.
The WIV is under fire for allegedly causing the COVID-19 pandemic through a suspected accidental lab leak.
The WIV has already received $600,000 in U.S. taxpayer dollars between 2014 and 2019 for research purposes.
EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit organization, received a $3.7 million grant from the NIH in 2014 to research bat-based coronaviruses in China, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The grant was terminated by the NIH in April because of EcoHealth Alliance’s relationship with the WIV.
In a letter, the NIH said EcoHealth Alliance’s work in China did not align with “program goals and agency priorities.”
In July, the NIH told EcoHealth Alliance they would restore the grant only if EcoHealth Alliance would allow them to arrange an independent team to investigate the WIV to determine if the COVID-19 virus was present in the lab prior to the first known cases in December 2019, as suspected by the U.S. State Department.
The president of EcoHealth Alliance, Peter Daszak, told NPR that the NIH’s conditions were “preposterous.”
“I’m not trained as a private detective,” Daszak said. “It’s not really my job to do that.”
Fox News “The Next Revolution” host Steve Hilton revealed evidence last month that linked EcoHealth Alliance to the WIV.
Hilton reported that the president of EcoHealth Alliance, Peter Daszak, sub-contracted an EcoHealth Alliance project to the WIV.
The WIV then began to genetically engineer new viruses from the feces of bats and infected human cells with the virus.
“The genetic changes they made in the lab, unlocked a highly specific doorway into the human body. The virus that causes COVID-19 uses that same exact doorway,” Hilton said.
Daszak was the only U.S. member in the World Health Organization delegation who investigated the origins of COVID-19 in China. The WHO delegation has yet to release a report on its findings.
Daszak told the White House it should accept the delegation’s conclusion and said it’s highly unlikely the virus could have leaked from the Wuhan lab.
Follow Annaliese Levy on Twitter @AnnalieseLevy
China
Analysis: Biden unlikely to sanction Iran’s oil exports, gas prices ‘critical during an election year’
Analysts say President Joe Biden is unlikely to “prompt dramatic sanctions action on Iran’s oil exports” due to “worries about boosting oil prices and angering top buyer China” according to Reuters.
Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, House Republican Representative Steve Scalise, said the administration had made it easier for Iran to sell its oil, generating revenues that were being used to “go fund terrorist activity.”
The Biden administration has maintained for months that among its primary goals is to keep the Gaza conflict between terror group Hamas and Israel from turning into a wider regional war. However, House Republican leaders accused President Joe Biden of failing to enforce existing measures and said they would take up this week a series of bills to sharpen sanctions on Iran.
Kimberly Donovan, a sanctions and anti-money laundering expert at the Atlantic Council, said that oil-related sanctions have not been strictly enforced in the past couple of years.
“I would not expect the administration to tighten enforcement in response to Iran’s missile and drone attacks against Israel over the weekend, mainly for concerns (that) could lead to increases in oil prices,” she said.
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