CANBERRA: A highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza has been found on a fourth poultry farm near Melbourne near two other properties where the virus had already been detected, the government of Australia’s Victoria state said on Wednesday.
“Avian influenza virus has been confirmed at a fourth Victorian poultry farm,” the government said in a statement.
The H7N3 strain of the virus has been detected at the farm, it said, which is not the same as the H5N1 strain that has spread globally through bird and mammal populations and even into humans.
H7N3 has now been found at three farms near the town of Meredith and an H7N9 strain has infected another farm near Terang, an hour and half’s drive east.
The state government said all the poultry at the farms would be killed and disposed of. That adds up to hundreds of thousands of birds, a small fraction of Australia’s total.
Affected farms have been placed in quarantine with curbs on movement in surrounding areas. Local bird owners must keep their birds enclosed to minimize contact with wild birds that could spread the virus.
Before the latest bird flu cases, Australia has seen nine outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza since 1976, all of which were contained and eradicated, according to the government.
Officials say there is no risk to the public from eating eggs and poultry meat.
Highly pathogenic bird flu found on fourth poultry farm in Australia
https://arab.news/6vdbp
Highly pathogenic bird flu found on fourth poultry farm in Australia
- The H7N3 strain of the virus has been detected at the poultry farm near Melbourne
- H7N3 has now been found at three farms near the town of Meredith and an H7N9 strain has infected another farm near Terang
Zelensky blasts EU's lack of political will against Putin
- Ukrainian president says he reached agreement with Trump around post-war US security guarantees for his country
- In a fiery speech, he slammed his main political backers in Europe over their 'inaction'
DAVOS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday blasted the EU’s lack of “political will” in countering Russian leader Vladimir Putin, in a fiery address criticizing some of Kyiv’s top allies at the World Economic Forum.
The speech to the Davos elite came minutes after Zelensky had met with US President Donald Trump, a conversation he said had brought agreement about what post-war US security guarantees for Ukraine would look like.
Zelensky did not say what they included, only that they were “done” and were ready to be signed by the leaders and ratified by the Ukrainian parliament and US Congress.
But in a marked departure from his usual warm rhetoric toward the European Union, Kyiv’s main political and financial backers, Zelensky slammed what he cast as inaction.
“What’s missing: time or political will?” he said at one point, referencing delays over the establishment of a European war crimes tribunal on the Russian invasion.
He also said Europe, without mentioning any single country, was failing to agree on how to address global problems.
“There are endless internal arguments and things left unsaid that stop Europe from uniting and speaking honestly enough to find real solutions,” Zelensky told the forum.
“Instead of becoming a truly global power, Europe remains a beautiful but fragmented kaleidoscope of small and middle powers,” he added.
Fresh talks
“Europe looks lost trying to convince the US President to change,” said Zelensky.
“But he will not change. President Trump loves who he is, and he says he loves Europe, but he will not listen to this kind of Europe,” he said.
Trump had hailed a “good” meeting with Zelensky in the Swiss ski resort, hours before his envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were due in Moscow for talks with Putin.
“This war has to end,” Trump told reporters including AFP when asked what message he was sending to the Russian leader.
Zelensky said the question of territory was the one outstanding issue in the talks to find an end to the war.
“It’s all about the eastern part of our country. It’s all about the land. This is the issue which we (have) not solved yet.”
He also said the United Arab Emirates would host “trilateral” talks on the Ukraine war Friday and Saturday with Ukrainian, US and Russian negotiators.
“It will be the first trilateral meeting in the Emirates,” said Zelensky, without elaborating on the format of the talks.
“Russians have to be ready for compromises,” he added.
Russia, which occupies around 20 percent of Ukraine, is pushing for full control of the country’s eastern Donbas region as part of a deal — but Kyiv has warned ceding ground will embolden Moscow.
