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Rob Price   Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan.AP Mark Zuckerberg's wildly ambitious plan to treat and cure all diseases has made a step forward with the announcement that it is funding dozens of scientists over the next five years. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is an organisation run by the Facebook cofounder and pediatrician Priscilla Chan, his wife.  Launched with a $3 billion (£2.4 billion) cheque book in September 2016 , its aim is to help "cure all disease" by the end of the twenty-first century, with a focus on investing in long-term scientific research that wouldn't necessarily pay off straight away. Part of the CZI is the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, a medical research organisation — and on Wednesday,  the Biohub announced it is providing $50 million (£40 million) in funding to researchers, TechCrunch reports . The cash is going to 47 different people, to fund their research for the next five years with up to $1.5 million (£1.2 million...

An Afghan man fills a container from rainwater during the snowfall on the outskirts of Mazar-i- Sharif, Afghanistan, February 4, 2017. (Photo by AFP) At least 50 people have been killed after their homes were buried under a massive avalanche in a remote village in eastern Afghanistan, officials say. The tragic incident occurred in Hafsi village in Barg-e-Matal district of Nuristan province, which is bordered on the east by Pakistan. According to Mohammad Omar Mohammadi, a spokesman for the Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA), “50 bodies” have so far been recovered. Mohammadi said a separate huge avalanche had almost entirely covered another village in the area and rescue teams were trying to reach it despite deep snow and freezing weather. Meanwhile, the provincial governor, Hafiz Abdul Qayoum, confirmed that at least 16 other people had been injured in the incident, warning that the death toll could rise as a rescue operation was on Sunday ev...