Nachrichtenagentur Radio Utopie
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(today)
Strikes continued with the use of loitering ammunition at enemy military facilities in Odessa. According to the latest data, the new strikes were carried out using Geran-2 strike drones, which are called an exact copy of Iranian Shahed-136 drones.
More than useless, Brussels had been hostile, she added: “We are facing the most powerful and violent attack against governments of sovereign nations opposing the dictatorship of politically correct ideology.” As examples, she cited the EU’s attempts to punish Poland and Hungary for democratic backsliding and efforts “to humiliate the British people who have freely chosen Brexit.”
Tuesday marked the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. Many world leaders condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This is German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
56. With this in mind, OHCHR recommends that States:
(a) Ensure that any interference with the right to privacy, including hacking, restrictions to access and use of encryption technology and surveillance of the public, complies with international human rights law, including the principles of legality, legitimate aim, necessity and proportionality and non-discrimination, and does not impair the essence of that right;
(b) Conduct human rights due diligencesystematically, including regular
comprehensive human rights impact assessments, when designing, developing, purchasing, deploying and operating surveillance systems;
(c) Take into account, when conducting human rights due diligence and
assessing the necessity and proportionality of new surveillance systems and powers, the entire legal and technological environment in which those systems or powers are or would be embedded; States should also consider risks of abuse, function creep and repurposing, including risks as a result of future political changes;
(d) Adopt and effectively enforce, through independent, impartial and well-resourced authorities, data privacy legislation for the public and private sectors that complies with international human rights law, including safeguards, oversight and remedies to effectively protect the right to privacy;
(e) Take immediate measures to effectively increase the transparency of the use of surveillance technologies, including by appropriately informing the public and affected individuals and communities and regularly providing data relevant for the public to assess their efficacy and impact on human rights;
(f) Promote public debate of the use of surveillance technologies and ensure meaningful participation of all stakeholders in decisions on the acquisition, transfer, sale, development, deployment and use of surveillance technologies, including the elaboration of public policies and their implementation;
(g) Implement moratoriums on the domestic and transnational sale and use of surveillance systems, such as hacking tools and biometric systems that can be used for the identification or classification of individuals in public places, until adequate safeguards to protect human rights are in place; such safeguards should include domestic and export control measures, in line with the recommendations made herein
and in previous reports to the Human Rights Council;
(h) Ensure that victims of human rights violations and abuses linked to the use of surveillance systems have access to effective remedies. In relation to the specific issues raised in the present report, OHCHR
recommends that States:
Hacking
(a) Ensure that the hacking of personal devices is employed by authorities only as a last resort, used only to prevent or investigate a specific act amounting to a serious threat to national security or a specific serious crime, and narrowly targeted at the person suspected of committing those acts; such measures should be subject to strict independent oversight and should require prior approval by a judicial body;
Encryption
(b) Promote and protect strong encryption and avoid all direct, or indirect, general and indiscriminate restrictions on the use of encryption, such as prohibitions, criminalization, the imposition of weak encryption standards or requirements for mandatory general client-side scanning; interference with the encryption of private communications of individuals should only be carried out when authorized by an independent judiciary body and on a case-by-case basis, targeting individuals if strictly necessary for the investigation of serious crimes or the prevention of serious crimes or
serious threats to public safety or national security;
Surveillance of public spaces and export control of surveillance technology
(c) Adopt adequate legal frameworks to govern the collection, analysis and sharing of social media intelligence that clearly define permissible grounds, prerequisites, authorization procedures and adequate oversight mechanisms;
(d) Avoid general privacy-intrusive monitoring of public spaces and ensure that all public surveillance measures are strictly necessary and proportionate for achieving important legitimate objectives, including by strictly limiting their location and time, as well as the duration of data storage, the purpose of data use and access to data; biometric recognition systems should only be used in public spaces to prevent or
investigate serious crimes or serious public safety threats and if all requirements under international human rights law are implemented with regard to public spaces;
(e) Establish robust well-tailored export control regimes applicable to surveillance technologies, the use of which carries high risks for the enjoyment of human rights; States should require transparent human rights impact assessments that take into account the capacities of the technologies at issue as well as the situation in the recipient State, including compliance with human rights, adherence to the rule of law,
the existence and effective enforcement of applicable laws regulating surveillance activities and the existence of independent oversight mechanisms;
(f) Ensure that, in the provision and use of surveillance technologies, public-private partnerships uphold and expressly incorporate human rights standards and do not result in an abdication of governmental accountability for human rights.
The SCO heads of state are expected to finalize the admission of Iran and grant the status of a dialogue partner to Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
Putin told Raisi that he was happy that Iran was joining the SCO.
Hadas Klein, personal assistant to Arnon Milchan, testified on Monday that former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested and received 3,000 shekels (about $900) in cash from tycoon Arnon Milchan, and that she bought his wife Sara a gift for 15,000 shekels with Milchan’s funds, also in cash. These details do not appear in the indictment, and it is the first time a claim has been presented that Netanyahu received cash from Milchan.
The leader of the right-wing group said she was ready to „break the glass ceiling“ and become the nation’s first woman head of government.
(27.08.2022)
President Biden’s order to strike targets belonging to Iranian-backed groups reflects a decision to act — “to protect and defend the safety of our personnel, to degrade and disrupt the ongoing series of attacks against the United States and our partners, and to deter the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iran-backed militia groups from conducting or supporting further attacks on United States personnel and facilities,” the president said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Since Army Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla took over U.S. Central Command in April, there has been a push to ensure that Iran cannot carry out attacks against U.S. forces and assets with impunity, according to a person familiar with planning, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
(12.08.2022)
Italy’s far-right leader Giorgia Meloni called on Wednesday Fascism “history” and highlighting her party’s links to Israel’s Likud and conservative factions. In her video, Meloni emphasized her party’s “shared values and experience” with Israel’s Likud party, US Republicans and British Conservatives. The “Italian conservatives” she leads are “a bastion of freedom and defense of Western values,” she said, highlighting her “Christian and family values.”
How many Americans took the Covid-19 jabs because they believed people like Anthony Fauci or organizations like the CDC when they said the spike proteins didn’t stay in the bodies of the injected? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Millions?
If reports that the spike proteins last indefinitely weren’t ignored by corporate media and suppressed by Big Tech, would more Americans have opted out of taking the “vaccines”? Absolutely.
Now, the CDC has discreetly removed from their website the important claim they’ve made from the beginning that spike proteins, whether injected directly into the body through J&J jabs or created by the body through the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA jabs, do not last long in the body.
The biggest fear was that Iran would provoke Trump, and, using an array of diplomatic and military channels, American officials warned the Iranians not to exploit the volatile domestic situation in the U.S. “There was a distinct concern that Iran would take advantage of this to strike at us in some way,” Adam Smith, the House Armed Services chairman, recalled.
Among those pushing the President to hit Iran before Biden’s Inauguration, Milley believed, was the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. On December 18th, the same day that Trump met with Flynn to discuss instituting martial law, Milley met with Netanyahu at his home in Jerusalem to personally urge him to back off with Trump. “If you do this, you’re gonna have a fucking war,” Milley told him.
But a new report released Tuesday from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that compiles health data and science, reveals that birth rates in the U.S. are not collapsing, and in fact rose 1% in 2021.
“The 1% increase in the number of births in 2021 was the first increase in births since 2014,” researchers for the National Vital Statistics System, the division within the NCHS that produces reports using birth data, wrote. The data, which is based on registered birth certificates, is provisional and could be subject to change.
Nearly one billion people worldwide suffer from some form of mental disorder, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
The latest report is the largest review of world mental health since the turn of the century.
The figure revealed in the report is staggering but is even more worrying if you consider that it includes around one in seven teenagers.
His comments came despite Ms Truss being seen as the „Boris Johnson continuity candidate“ with a number of his supporters backing her in a bid to stop Mr Suank entering No10.
Her attack on the former Chancellor’s record last night was one of a number of punches swung as the Tory leadership contest gets increasingly bitter.
Fri 15 Jul 2022
For the first time temperatures of 40°C have been forecast in the UK and the Met Office has issued the first ever Red warning for exceptional heat.
Exceptional heat is expected to affect a large part of England early next week, with temperatures likely in the high 30s C in some places and perhaps even reaching 40°C.
According to Zelensky, „we are on our own land, this is our people and our territory.“ „It is very painful to lose people. But we will lose everything if we give in to Russia in this war,“ the president stressed.
He also confirmed the information about the visit to Ukraine of German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, saying at the end of the interview: „It is very important that Chancellor Scholz is coming now, during the war.“
Eventually, a janitor provided six keys. Arredondo tried each on a door adjacent to the room where the gunman was, but it didn’t open.
Later, another key ring with between 20 and 30 keys was brought to Arredondo.
“I was praying one of them was going to open up the door each time I tried a key,” Arredondo said in an interview.
None did.
Eventually, the officers on the north side of the hallway called Arredondo’s cellphone and told him they had gotten a key that could open the door.
The officers on the north side of the hallway formed a group of mixed law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Border Patrol, to enter the classroom and take down the shooter, Arredondo said.
„I didn’t issue any orders,“ he told the Tribune, though the outlet reports the chief did instruct officers to start breaking the outside windows of other classrooms and begin evacuating students. „I called for assistance and asked for an extraction tool to open the door“ of one of the classrooms where the shooting happened, he said.
Arredondo „assumed that some other officer or official had taken control of the larger response,“ the Tribune wrote.
(26.05.2022)
Escalon said Ramos entered the school through an unlocked door. DPS officials said at 11:44 am officers entered the school and came under heavy gunfire from Ramos. (…)
Sources close to this investigation tell KPRC 2 Investigates the Border Patrol agent who is credited with stopping Ramos was eating lunch at the Mill Creek Café in the town of Leakey when he heard the call go out over his radio. Sources tell KPRC 2 even though the agent was not in uniform, he didn’t hesitate to jump into his vehicle and drive 40 miles to Robb elementary. We are told the agent is a member of Border Patrol’s tactical team known as BORTAC.
(June 1, 2022)
11:33 a.m.: The shooter enters the school and begins shooting into a classroom, which is connected to a second class. He shot „at least“ 100 rounds, McCraw said.
(…)
11:42 a.m.: A source close to a teacher receives a text saying there was an active shooter on campus. CNN saw the text chain and confirmed the timestamps.
(…)
12:15 p.m.: Members of the Border Patrol’s tactical unit, BORTAC, arrive on scene, McCraw said.
(…)
12:50 p.m.: Law enforcement breach the locked classroom door using keys from a janitor, McCraw said. They shoot and kill the suspect.
A CBP official told Texas Monthly that as emergency calls first came in, four agents with CBP’s Bortac SWAT team were investigating stash houses on the border to the west of Uvalde. The agents immediately responded, arriving at the school just before noon. Bortac (Border Patrol Tactical Unit) is CBP’s’s paramilitary force, an elite group of agents trained to exchange gunfire with cartels.
1. Today, on 8 May, we, the Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), alongside Ukraine and the wider global community, commemorate the end of the Second World War in Europe and the liberation from fascism and the National Socialist reign of terror, which caused immeasurable destruction, unspeakable horrors and human suffering. We mourn the millions of victims and offer our respect, especially to all those who paid the ultimate price to defeat the National Socialist regime, including the western Allies and the Soviet Union.
2. Seventy-seven years later, President Putin and his regime now chose to invade Ukraine in an unprovoked war of aggression against a sovereign country. His actions bring shame on Russia and the historic sacrifices of its people. Through its invasion of and actions in Ukraine since 2014, Russia has violated the international rules-based order, particularly the UN Charter, conceived after the Second World War to spare successive generations from the scourge of war.
The declaration of war, according to a CNN report, would allow the full mobilisation of Russia’s reserve forces as they attempt to conquer eastern and southern Ukraine.
„I hope that in the weeks to come we will convince our European partners to stop importing Russian oil,“ Le Maire told Europe 1 radio.
Decrying terror and envisioning peace, the foreign ministers of Israel, Morocco, Egypt, Bahrain, the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates seek to counter Iran through ’new regional architecture‘
„The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change,“ the official said following Biden’s speech in Warsaw.
In a flurry of meetings, Biden and major allies are expected to announce plans to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy, new sanctions and more military deployments to Eastern Europe — even as divisions emerge about how to deter Moscow. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden will also discuss “potential contingencies” in the event of a Russian cyberattack or chemical weapons.
When asked what he will say to European leaders, Biden said he will say it face-to-face when he arrives.
“All I have to say, I’m going to say it when I get there,” Biden said, adding that he will be “happy to talk to you guys when I get back,” referring to reporters.
(14.03.2022)
„War crimes are impossible without propagandists covering them up. I want to tell them one thing: you will respond in the same way as those who order bombs to be dropped on civilians,“ he said in a video statement distributed on Thursday afternoon.
„We will find all the property of propagandists and persons associated with them. We will do everything to have it seized, wherever it is. You love the rich life. Love prosperous countries. You won’t have it anymore. And this is just the beginning,“ he said, adding that „you will be prosecuted for complicity in war crimes.“
A photo of a bloodied Vishegirskaya fleeing the hospital made global headlines, prompting the Russian Embassy to falsely claim she was a crisis actor, saying she was not at the hospital at the time of the attack and was wearing „some very realistic make-up.“
(March 8, 2022)
Игорь рассказал, что в последние дни февраля в роддом, где работает его мать, пришли люди в форме. Он не знает, были это бойцы ВСУ или националистического батальона «Азов» (запрещен в РФ). Военные сбили все замки, разогнали персонал роддома, а в здании устроили огневые точки, чтобы, как они объяснили медикам, подготовить к обороне «крепость Мариуполь». На возражения у военных реакция стандартная: удары прикладами, стрельба в воздух.
What he’s saying: „A children’s hospital. Maternity hospital. What did they threaten the Russian Federation with?“ Zelensky said in a televised address on Wednesday.
„What kind of country is this — the Russian Federation, which is afraid of hospitals and maternity hospitals and destroys them?“ he continued.
Moscow did not immediately comment on a statement by Ukraine’s border service that several Belarusian border villages had been bombed by Russian warplanes to create a reason for Belarus to join Russia’s war against Ukraine.
BRUSSELS – The European Union has asked its satellite centre in Madrid to provide intelligence to Ukraine about Russian troop movements and EU countries are determined to further increase their bilateral military support to Kiyv, the EU’s head diplomat said.
Specifically, we commit to undertake the following measures:
First, we commit to ensuring that selected Russian banks are removed from the SWIFT messaging system. This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally.
Second, we commit to imposing restrictive measures that will prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves in ways that undermine the impact of our sanctions.
Third, we commit to acting against the people and entities who facilitate the war in Ukraine and the harmful activities of the Russian government. Specifically, we commit to taking measures to limit the sale of citizenship—so called golden passports—that let wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government become citizens of our countries and gain access to our financial systems.
Fourth, we commit to launching this coming week a transatlantic task force that will ensure the effective implementation of our financial sanctions by identifying and freezing the assets of sanctioned individuals and companies that exist within our jurisdictions. As a part of this effort we are committed to employing sanctions and other financial and enforcement measures on additional Russian officials and elites close to the Russian government, as well as their families, and their enablers to identify and freeze the assets they hold in our jurisdictions. We will also engage other governments and work to detect and disrupt the movement of ill-gotten gains, and to deny these individuals the ability to hide their assets in jurisdictions across the world.
Finally, we will step up or coordination against disinformation and other forms of hybrid warfare.
„Prime Minister [Modi] reiterated his long-standing conviction that the differences between Russia and the NATO group can only be resolved through honest and sincere dialogue,“ the statement said.
It said that during the phone call, PM Modi appealed for an immediate cessation of violence, and called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic negotiations and dialogue.
In response to the U.S. State Department spokesperson’s remarks on Ukraine, Hua said the United States is not qualified to tell China what to do on the issue of respecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
„Even today, we are still facing the real threat from the United States and its so-called allies wantonly interfering in China’s internal affairs and undermining China’s sovereignty and security on Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan issues,“ she said.
BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) — Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday held a phone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
In a statement, Eduard Basurin said that „the armed forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic are attacking the positions of the Ukrainian Army along the entire line of contact, using every means of destruction available to them,“ he said.
Earlier the same morning, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced it had begun strikes against military targets across Ukraine, with explosions heard in major cities.
– FDA executive Christopher Cole was secretly recorded by a Project Veritas undercover employee posing as his date during a series of dinner meetings
– He was caught on camera dishing out his thoughts about vaccine mandates, saying he believed they would be become annual requirements
– He also suggested that the Biden administration had financial incentives for pushing the vaccine, saying they’re a ‚recurring‘ source of income
– During a follow-up Project Veritas interview, Cole said he’d been tricked during a ‚hack job‘ investigation and that his comments were taken out of context
– He said his office was not involved in the approval of vaccines
– Project Veritas Founder James O’Keefe is now demanding the FDA answer to the allegations that its officials are motivated by the ‚fountain of revenue‘ it receives from pharmaceutical companies
– O’Keefe told Sean Hannity Wednesday night: ‚There are serious ethical issues‘
Mandatory Covid jabs for NHS and social care workers are set to be scrapped, The Telegraph can reveal, after warnings of crippling staff shortages if the plan went ahead.
Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, will on Monday meet fellow ministers on the Covid-Operations Cabinet committee to rubber stamp the decision on the about-turn.
Two law enforcement officials told CNN earlier Saturday that investigators believe the hostage taker may have been motivated by a desire to release Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year sentence at a facility in Texas. She was convicted in 2010 on seven charges, including attempted murder and armed assault on US officers in Afghanistan.
„We do believe from our engaging with this subject that he was singularly focused on one issue, and it was not specifically related to the Jewish community, but we’ll continue to work to find motive,“ DeSarno said.
Since negotiations for a plea bargain were first made public, Mendelblit has been harshly criticized by Justice Ministry officials and the legal team that manages Netanyahu’s corruption cases, which will be required to negotiate with the former prime minister’s defense attorneys on the wording of the amended indictment. Sources close to the attorney general also believe that he will have a difficult time converting those who oppose the deal in the time he has left.
European Union regulators warned that frequent Covid-19 booster shots could adversely affect the immune system and may not be feasible.
Repeat booster doses every four months could eventually weaken the immune system and tire out people, according to the European Medicines Agency.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the network’s top medical correspondent, agreed Monday the method being used by the government to report COVID-19 hospitalizations is explicitly „misleading.“
What is the background?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which manages COVID data reporting, does not distinguish between people hospitalized for COVID (meaning complications from the virus caused them to be hospitalized) or people hospitalized with COVID (meaning people who test positive for COVID after being admitted for reasons unrelated to the virus).
(April 21, 2021)
Among 3958 participants enrolled in the v-safe pregnancy registry, 827 had a completed pregnancy, of which 115 (13.9%) were pregnancy losses and 712 (86.1%) were live births (mostly among participants vaccinated in the third trimester).
(04.08.2021)
Of the 3,958 participants, 827 had what the study defines as a ‘completed pregnancy’. This term includes those who either had a baby (what the authors call a ‘live birth’), or those who suffered from a miscarriage or still birth (termed ‘pregnancy loss’ in the study). The rest were either still pregnant or a follow-up had not yet been made by the time the preliminary analysis had been released.
Of the 827 women who had a completed pregnancy, 104 had a miscarriage.
(22.12.2021)
However, he stumbles on his words at the end, which makes it appear as though he is suggesting booster jabs “kill children”.
A WHO spokesperson told the BBC that Dr Ghebreyesus “got stuck on the first syllable ‘chil’ and it came out sounding like ‘cil/kil‘.
“He repeated the same syllable, with it coming out ‘cil-children’. Any other interpretation of this is 100% incorrect.”
Three separate teams of scientists on two continents have found that Omicron infections more often result in mild illness than earlier variants of the coronavirus, offering hope that the current surge may not be quite as catastrophic as feared despite skyrocketing caseloads.
The researchers examined Omicron’s course through populations in South Africa, Scotland and England. The results in each setting, while still preliminary, all suggested that the variant was less likely to send people in hospitals.
(7 December 2021)
Avichai Mandelblit said to tell associates privately that the ex-PM he put on trial hoped to appoint prosecutors and judges who would protect him; ‚democracy not guaranteed‘
(29.10.2020)
Mary Lee, Mathematician; Fellow, RAND Center for Global Risk and Security
The Internet of Bodies, or IoB, is actually an ecosystem. It’s a bunch of devices that are connected to the Internet that contain software and that either collect personal health data about you or can alter the body’s function. We think of the Internet of Bodies as this collection of all these devices, as well as all the data that the devices are gathering about you. And in health care, Internet of Bodies has been around for quite a while. With the advent of the Internet, it makes a lot of sense to connect your pacemaker to the Internet so that your doctor can be automatically notified if something weird happens, if there’s an anomaly. It’s natural in a lot of ways to want to understand more about your body, how it functions, how well it’s doing.
The Centerfor Countering Digital Hate is a not-for-profit NGO that seeks to disrupt the architecture of online hate and misinformation.
Digital technology has changed forever the way we communicate, build relationships, share knowledge, set social standards, and negotiate and assert our society’s values.
Digital spaces have been colonised and their unique dynamics exploited by fringe movements that instrumentalise hate and misinformation. These movements are opportunistic, agile and confident in exerting influenceand persuading people.Over time these actors, advocating diverse causes – from anti-feminism to ethnic nationalism to denial of scientific consensus – have formed a Digital Counter Enlightenment.
Their trolling, disinformation and skilled advocacy of their causes has resocialised the offline world for the worse.The Center’s work combines both analysis and active disruption of these networks. CCDH’s solutions seek to increase the economic, political and social costs of all parts of the infrastructure -the actors, systems and culture -that support, and often profit from hate and misinformation.
But Bourla has less empathy or understanding for what he said are the “small” number of people who have knowingly circulated misinformation. Those people can’t be qualified just bad people, he said, adding: “They are criminals. They have literally cost millions of lives.”
The interview was live-streamed online and the replay is available to watch here.
In a blunt admission after two days of preliminary talks at the G20 meeting of world leaders, the prime minister conceded little progress had been made – and the conference is not on track to achieve a deal that keeps the goal alive. He put the chances of success as “six out of 10”.
“Currently, let’s be in no doubt, we are not going to hit it and we have to be honest with ourselves,” he said. The commitments being made so far were a “drop in the rapidly warming ocean”.
As of Wednesday, 497,000 Virginians have cast their ballot, with 323,000 doing so in-person and 174,000 by mail according to L2, a national voter roll vendor. Another 183,000 early ballots have been sent out but not yet returned.
By contrast, on Oct. 22, 2020, 12 days before the presidential election, more than 1.5 million Virginians had already voted, and another 1.1 million ballots were outstanding. While this nearly 70 percent drop in early voting may seem large, it is expected.
„Thanks to the Europeans for sanctions in agriculture. <...> For sanctions in general, but we introduced countermeasures related to agriculture, invested the appropriate resources, by the way, not only in agriculture, but also in the import substitution in this industry. And I should say, the effect is good. I had a feeling of anxiety first, I do not hide it, but the overall effect is very good, „Putin said on Thursday, speaking at a meeting of the Valdai International Club.
Putin noted that Russia is increasing food supplies to the world market.
It appears that Turkey, despite the commitments it made to Russia, not only finds it very hard to impose its will on the militias but is in no hurry to do so. It sees control of Idlib as a bargaining chip it can use to win concessions from Moscow over other parts of Syria. Turkey argues that Russia hasn’t kept its end of the bargain to evacuate Kurdish forces from the border area between it and Syria, in particular from the cities of Manbij and Tell Rifaat. Thus, in response to Moscow’s demands to expel militants from Idlib, Ankara is demanding that the Russians move ahead with their pa
Shortly after the Damascus bombings, government shells landed in a rebel-held town in northern Syria, killing at least 10 people, four of them children. The attack, part of the government campaign to regain control of areas still in opposition hands, was the worst violence in the region since a truce in March last year was negotiated by Turkey and Russia, allies of the opposition and Syrian government, respectively.
The official said the attack appeared to include at least one drone strike and possibly groundfire. It was not yet clear who carried out the attack.
Increasing the use of end-to-end encrypted platforms not only keeps you and the people you love safe from hackers and thieves, but also improves the security of the Internet as a whole. That is why this Global Encryption Day every person, business and organization should make the switch to using strong encryption.
Global Encryption Day is an opportunity to tell governments around the world that protecting and strengthening encryption is crucial to making the Internet safer for their citizens. It will send a message to governments to abandon plans that will weaken encryption, and the Internet as a whole, by granting law enforcement agencies special powers to access your private data on encrypted platforms.
Encryption safeguards the personal security of billions of people and the national security of countries around the world.
However, some governments and organisations are pushing to weaken encryption, which would create a dangerous precedent that compromises the security of billions of people around the world.
The Global Encryption Coalition (GEC) was founded in 2020 by the Center for Democracy & Technology, Global Partners Digital and the Internet Society and now has over 200 members.
It’s open to web based participation! Joining info below @LarryLewis_
@SpencerGuard
@40ID_DeputyCG
@SebastianBae
@AndrewBellUS
@KaurinShanks
There is an urgent need for global stakeholders to cooperate in simultaneously managing the direct consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. To improve the state of the world, the World Economic Forum is starting The Great Reset initiative
During NBA Press conference today, Orlando Magic’s Jonathan Isaac says he isn’t getting the covid vaccine because he has natural immunity and data shows he isn’t at risk at all from covid. Well said, very educated!!
/17.09.2021)
Given what we know about breakthrough infections, most experts remain unconvinced there’s enough data to justify an extra dose for most Americans.
(22.09.2021)
A study led by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE evaluating their Covid-19 vaccine in expectant mothers has been complicated by slow enrollment, researchers say, delaying results that could help inform physicians about how the shots affect pregnant women and their babies.
Pfizer closed enrollment at many U.S. sites this summer, after fewer than expected numbers of subjects entered the study, researchers say
(7 July 2021)
The number of women reporting changes to their menstrual cycle linked to having a COVID vaccine has risen to 13,000.
The figure has increased from around 4,000 women last month.
Over the last eight months, I have prioritized rebuilding our alliances, revitalizing our partnerships, and recognizing they’re essential and central to America’s enduring security and prosperity.
We have reaffirmed our sacred NATO Alliance to Article 5 commitment. We’re working with our Allies toward a new strategic concept that will help our Alliance better take on evolving threats of today and tomorrow.
(…)
The future will belong to those who embrace human dignity, not trample it.
The future will belong to those who unleash the potential of their people, not those who stifle it.
The future will belong to those who give their people the ability to breathe free, not those who seek to suffocate their people with an iron hand.
Authoritarianism — the authoritarianism of the world may seek to proclaim the end of the age of democracy, but they’re wrong.
(…)
These are the challenges that we — will determine what the world looks like for our children and our grandchildren, and what they’ll inherit. We can only meet them by looking to the future.
I stand here today, for the first time in 20 years, with the United States not at war. We’ve turned the page.
Biden said his administration will focus on promoting peace through diplomacy and development assistance, announcing that “the U.S. is making a $10 billion commitment to end hunger and invest in food systems at home and abroad.”
“One way we can enhance security and reduce violence is by seeking to improve the lives of people around the world,” he said.
But freedoms need to be defended, so we are also building strong security ties around the world. That is why last week the Prime Minister announced, alongside our friends President Biden and Prime Minister Morrison, the creation of a new security partnership called AUKUS.
We will be working closer together to use a wide range of cutting-edge technologies, from nuclear-powered submarines at first and then looking at artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Nearly a quarter of Covid inpatients in England are actually in hospital for a different reason, according to official figures.
Health service statistics show there were 6,146 NHS beds taken up by people who were coronavirus positive on September 14, the latest date data is available for.
But just 4,721 patients (77 per cent) were primarily being treated for the virus, with the remaining 1,425 receiving care for other illnesses or injuries. They could include patients who’ve had a fall or even new mothers who tested positive after giving birth.
(Sep 11, 2016)
On 9/11, the passengers of Flight 93 fought the hijackers, preventing an attack on what may have been the Capitol or the White House. Former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta reflects on his experience inside the White House bunker that day.
(30.08.2021)
The Pentagon criticised the leaking of the call details reported in Politico, telling the news website: “This story is based on the unlawful disclosure of classified information and internal deliberations of a sensitive nature.
“As soon as we became aware of the material divulged to the reporter, we engaged Politico at the highest levels to prevent the publication of information that would put our troops and our operations at the airport at greater risk. We condemn the unlawful disclosure of classified information and oppose the publication of a story based on it while a dangerous operation is ongoing.”
(30.08.2021)
Commanders calling in from Kabul relayed that the Abbey Gate, where American citizens had been told to gather in order to gain entrance to the airport, was “highest risk,” and detailed their plans to protect the airport.
“I don’t believe people get the incredible amount of risk on the ground,” Austin said, according to the classified notes.
On a separate call at 4 that afternoon, or 12:30 a.m. on Thursday in Kabul, the commanders detailed a plan to close Abbey Gate by Thursday afternoon Kabul time. But the Americans decided to keep the gate open longer than they wanted in order to allow their British allies, who had accelerated their withdrawal timeline, to continue evacuating their personnel, based at the nearby Baron Hotel.
(24.08.2021)
She had purple spots on her body when she was found, and the family and the police requested an autopsy from the National Forensic Service to find the cause of death.
Both men contracted fever after receiving their vaccinations and neither had underlying health conditions or allergic history, the ministry said.
The suspension affects 1.63 million doses of Moderna COVID vaccines, which have been reportedly shipped to over 800 vaccination centers across Japan.
The foreign substances have been confirmed since Aug. 16 at eight vaccination sites in five prefectures — Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Gifu and Aichi. They were found in a total of 39 vials.
Takeda reported them to the ministry on Wednesday.
The composition of the foreign matter, a few millimeters in size, has not been determined.
The „small black materials“ reported to the ministry could be metallic fragments, one of its senior officials said.
It’s not clear who started the fighting and German officials said the three Afghans were hurt by „unknown attackers“.
The Afghan forces are thought to be part of an army contingent who have been helping international forces, having refused to surrender to the Taliban.
In recent days, the Qatari ambassador to Afghanistan has escorted small groups of Americans into the airport, according to two people familiar with the effort who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive operation. American citizens have been instructed to meet at rally points in the city, and the ambassador then accompanies them to guarantee safe passage, these people said. Qatar has served as an intermediary between the United States and the Taliban at several stages of the American withdrawal, sponsoring peace talks and serving as the first point of refuge for many evacuees.
„I didn’t hear a single thing that would give comfort to the very allies you spoke about. I’ve heard from people in the region. They are frightened by the American collapse—the American collapse of temerity and strength and power that we demonstrated for four years that had frankly kept the Taliban at bay and prevented precisely what you’re precisely seeing happen today, and I didn’t hear a single thing that would frighten a single Taliban who thinks there’s any risk that this administration would impose any cost on them for their activities, for what they are doing to Americans today and holding them hostage—not permitting them to get into the airport in Kabul so that we can get them home to their families. „
(2.9.2015)
Former CIA director David Petraeus is advocating giving arms to members of al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaida off-shoot, to beat Isis. That is madness
– Petraeus commanded forces in Afghanistan and Iraq and helped formulate ‚counterinsurgency‘ strategies
– He criticized Biden’s decision to pull out of Afghanistan in a New Yorker interview
– Disagreed with decision to pull out liaison, special forces trainers, contractors
– Said it began an epidemic of ’surrender‘ for the Afghans
– Called departure ‚premature‘ but didn’t say how much more time was needed
– Warned Al Qaeda could reemerge
– Acknowledged ‚overbuilt‘ nation-building aspects, but said it was necessary for a hand-off
– Biden said the U.S. could not fight when Afghans were unwilling to do so
– ‚To say that the Afghans won’t fight for their country needs an asterisk‘
(18.08.2021)
(18.08.2021)
“There was nothing that I saw that indicated a collapse of this army and this government in 11 days.”
His comments came just one day after sources told the New York Times that US intelligence officials had been warning of a quick Taliban takeover in Afghanistan — even as President Biden was publicly downplaying the threat.
“We have expelled the foreigners and I would like to congratulate the whole nation on this.
This is pride, not only for a limited number of people. This is a proud moment for the whole nation. This kind of pride is rare when it can be achieved. The whole nation, after the whole history of the nation and therefore, on the base of this I would like to congratulate the whole nation and I would like to welcome you.
Freedom and independence seeking is a legitimate right of every nation. The Afghans also use their legitimate right after 20 years of struggle for freedom and for emancipating the country from occupation, this was our right and we achieved this right.“
Russia said its ambassador to Afghanistan will meet with the Taliban in Kabul on August 17 and that it will decide on whether to recognise the new government based on its conduct.
(15.08.2021)
Join @awsanzar & me in 30 minutes from now for another #afghaneyelive where we will cover developing situation in #Afghanistan
A spokesman for Taliban’s political office told Al Jazeera the group did not want to live in isolation and said the type and form of the new government in Afghanistan would be made clear soon.
Mohammad Naeem also called for peaceful international relations.
“Thanks to God, the war is over in the country,” he said.
Suhail Shaheen called the BBC’s Yalda Hakim, live on air.
In the wide-ranging interview, she pressed him on the Taliban’s plans for the country amid concern the militants will impose strict interpretations of Sharia law, including corporal punishments and a ban on girls going to school.
(01.09.2015)
The bottom line is that this is a week of naked political horse trading that goes on behind closed doors. Journalists are not allowed to witness what takes place, which is why we’ve been looking at official IPCC photos here. This is what they permit us to see.
It’s only after the diplomats have haggled over this Summary – paragraph by paragraph – that the final version gets officially released at a press conference.
The world is then told that science has spoken. But what’s just happened has nothing to do with science. Scientific truth is not determined in the dead of night by UN-level negotiations. On what planet would such an approach make scientific sense?
But the bad news doesn’t stop there. There’s actually a step in the IPCC process in which the original, lengthy report gets amended so that it conforms to the politically-negotiated Summary. I am not making this up.
He urged “all the major emitters to play their part”, adding the G20 group of nations “is going to be absolutely key in terms of our 1.5-degree future”.
Mr Sharma said countries who are attending the international Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow in November “must send a clear market signal to get the transition moving faster”.
– Evidence shows that carbon dioxide is the main driver of climate change, the report says.
– Almost 200 countries have signed up to the Paris climate accord.
– The report comes three months before a major climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
(06.08.2021)
(03.08.2021)
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: „I think double vaccination, full vaccination, is going to be a feature for ever more and most countries, probably all countries, will require full vaccination in order for you to enter.”
He also warned youngsters they will be unable to travel if they do not get jabbed.
Published Aug. 3, 2021 Updated Aug. 4, 2021, 8:46 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is open to several potential ways to tighten a much-stretched 2001 law that serves as the domestic legal basis for the open-ended “forever war” against terrorists around the world, a senior State Department official told Congress on Tuesday.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday warned the United States against aggressively challenging China, saying Washington’s increasingly hard-line views could be „very dangerous.“
He said the United States had moved from an approach of healthy competition with China to the view that America „must win, one way or another.“
(28.07.2021)
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today participated in a committee markup on three bills, one of which seeks to create a fund for global health initiatives. Sen. Cruz introduced two amendments to prevent the federal government from creating a vaccine passport system and vaccine database to track Americans based on their vaccination status. Read excerpts of his remarks below.
Experts said it meant the national statistics, published daily on the government website and frequently referred to by ministers, may far overstate the levels of pressures on the NHS.
The leaked data – covering all NHS trusts in England – show that, as of last Thursday, just 44 per cent of patients classed as being hospitalised with Covid had tested positive by the time they were admitted.
Questioning the FBI’s role in 1/6 was maligned by corporate media as deranged. But only ignorance about the FBI or a desire to deceive could produce such a reaction.
(20.07.2021)
An examination of the case by BuzzFeed News also reveals that some of those informants, acting under the direction of the FBI, played a far larger role than has previously been reported. Working in secret, they did more than just passively observe and report on the actions of the suspects. Instead, they had a hand in nearly every aspect of the alleged plot, starting with its inception. The extent of their involvement raises questions as to whether there would have even been a conspiracy without them.
On October 8 last year, about 13 people were arrested for allegedly conspiring to abduct Michigan State Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The said arrests were made by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on suspicion that the accused were planning to overthrow the State government over strict Covid-19 rules. A news investigation by Buzzfeed news has now revealed that about 12 FBI informants were not only a part of the conspiracy but also instigated the kidnapping plot.
The detention of Dimitri Hérard was confirmed by Bed-Ford Claude, a Haitian prosecutor; Israel Jacky Cantave, a spokesperson for Haiti’s prime minister; and Carl Martin, a close friend and colleague of Hérard’s. Much public anger has been directed against Hérard, as Haitians wonder how a team of alleged assassins appeared to easily infiltrate Moïse’s residence only to be later swiftly taken into custody.
It isn’t clear on what charges, if any, Hérard is being held. “The justice [system] wants him to answer questions,” Claude told The Washington Post.
The authors explain Milley’s growing concerns that personnel moves that put Trump acolytes in positions of power at the Pentagon after the November 2020 election, including the firing of Defense Secretary Mark Esper and the resignation of Attorney General William Barr, were the sign of something sinister to come.
Milley spoke to friends, lawmakers and colleagues about the threat of a coup, and the Joint Chiefs chairman felt he had to be „on guard“ for what might come.
„They may try, but they’re not going to f**king succeed,“ Milley told his deputies, according to the authors. „You can’t do this without the military. You can’t do this without the CIA and the FBI. We’re the guys with the guns.“
Dr Soumya Swaminathan, the chief WHO scientist, said: “At this point … there is no scientific evidence to suggest that boosters are definitely needed.”
Swaminathan said the WHO would make recommendations on booster shots “based on the science and data, not on individual companies declaring that the vaccines should now be administered as a booster dose”.
According to Zarif Biden has agreed to annul these executive order:
13781, 13902, 13876 (Khamenei and his office), 13846 (partially), 13754, 13590, 13622, 13645, 13628
According to Zarif the Biden administration has agreed to suspend these laws:
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012
Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act (TRA)
Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act, (IFCA)
Iran Sanctions Act (ISA)
He added that the cells‘ activities were coordinated via a Telegram channel dubbed „Self-defence regiments of Belarus“ which had 2,500 subscribers and belonged to a German citizen.
The cells recently tried to detonate a Russian naval communication centre located in the Belarusian town of Vileika, about 100 kilometres northwest of Minsk, according to the Belarusian leader.
(10.06.2021)
Citing an article in The Financial Times, which in turn cites the Citizen Lab report, Muddy Waters Research tweeted that a German payment processing company Wirecard was a client of BellTrox.
(27.06.2021)
My firm, Schoen-Cooperman Research, has also worked on referenda aimed at passing ranked-choice voting in cities and states across the country.
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I support the method because, by design, it delivers a more representative outcome and gives voters more choice than a winner-take-all system. In addition, ranked-choice voting discourages negative campaigning and elects fewer extreme candidates.
In his first Commons statement since replacing Matt Hancock, Mr Javid told MPs: „There remains a big task ahead of us to restore our freedoms – freedoms that, save for the greatest of circumstances, no government should ever wish to curtail.
„So my task is to help return the economic and cultural life that makes this country so great while of course protecting life and our NHS.“
The material was kept in safes in the so-called ‘aquarium,’ where prime ministers and their most senior aides sit. It’s unclear which, or how many, documents were destroyed at Netanyahu’s orders
Kohavi was initially set to meet with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, head of the US Central Command Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr., and head of the US Special Operations Command Gen. Richard D. Clark, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The shameful scene also revealed that indeed, it was high time for the outgoing members of the government to head to the opposition. As Lapid said, their behavior reminded him why it was so important to replace them. Their concept of democracy and free speech has been distorted beyond recognition by too much time in power.
Out of 107 Covid deaths registered in the week ending May 21, just 66 had the virus recorded as the underlying cause of death – 61.7 per cent.
For the rest of the cases, although coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate it was not a major cause.
Today, as we remember their sacrifice, we remind ourselves of our duty to their memory, to the future they fought for. We owe the honored dead a debt we can never fully repay. We owe them our whole souls. We owe them our full best efforts to perfect the Union for which they died.
We owe them the work of our hands and our hearts, to make real the promise of a nation founded on the proposition that all of us — all of us — all of us are created equal and deserve to be treated that way throughout our lives.
Democracy is more than a form of government. It’s a way of being; it’s a way of seeing the world. Democracy means the rule of the people — the rule of the people. Not the rule of monarchs, not the rule of the moneyed, not the rule of the mighty — literally, the rule of the people.
The lives of billions, from antiquity to our own hour, have been shaped by the battle between aspirations of the many and the greed of the few. Between people’s right to self-determination and the self-seeking of the dictator. Between dreams of democracy and appetites for autocracy, which we’re seeing around the world.
Our troops have fought this battle on fields around the world, but also the battle of our time. And the mission falls to each of us, each and every day. Democracy itself is in peril, here at home and around the world.
Speaking at Arlington National Cemetery, Biden said “democracy itself” is in “peril” in the U.S. and around the world.
“What we do now” and “how we honor the memory of the fallen,” Biden said, will determine whether democracy can endure.
Repeating one of his go-to campaign lines, Biden claimed the battle for the “soul of America” is “animated by the perennial battle between our worst instincts—which we’ve seen of late—and our better angels.”
– An explosive new study claims researchers found ‚unique fingerprints‚ in COVID-19 samples that they say could only have arisen from manipulation in a laboratory
– DailyMail.com exclusively obtained the new 22-page paper authored by British Professor Angus Dalgleish and Norwegian scientist Dr. Birger Sørensen set to be published in the Quarterly Review of Biophysics Discovery
– The study showed there’s evidence to suggest Chinese scientists created the virus while working on a Gain of Function project in a Wuhan lab
– Gain of Function research, which was temporarily outlawed in the US, involves altering naturally-occurring viruses to make them more infectious in order to study their potential effects on humans
According to the paper, Chinese scientists took a natural coronavirus ‚backbone‘ found in Chinese cave bats and spliced onto it a new ’spike‘, turning it into the deadly and highly transmissible COVID-19
– The researchers, who concluded that COVID-19 ‚has no credible natural ancestor‚, also believe scientists reverse-engineered versions of the virus to cover up their tracks.
‚We think that there have been retro-engineered viruses created,‘ Dalgleish told DailyMail.com. ‚They’ve changed the virus, then tried to make out it was in a sequence years ago.‘
“It’s one of the fastest negotiations ever between Iran and the Western states,” a European diplomat familiar with the talks told Haaretz.
“If in the past the Iranians submitted each interim agreement for the leadership’s approval in Tehran, a process that sometimes took several days, this time things are being done swiftly. Apparently the Iranian delegation has received wider latitude, but the American flexibility has undoubtedly also contributed a great deal.”
Ms Johnson, a mother-of-three Oxford Brookes graduate who rose to prominence after organising BLM protests last summer, is said to be currently in intensive care and in a critical condition following the attack.
Police said the Peckham shooting occurred in the vicinity of a house where a party was taking place and that a number of people may have been in the area. Officers said there is ’nothing to suggest‘ that the woman shot there was the subject of a targeted attack.
The official’s rhetoric echoes recent reports by the Israeli B’Tselem rights group, as well as by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) organization, both of which accused Israel of subjecting Palestinians to a multi-tiered regime of discrimination not unlike the racist system of governance that held sway in South Africa between 1948 and 1991.
(05.05.2021)
On April 10, Khamenei told a grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late leader of the 1979 revolution, that he should not run. Hassan Khomeini, who had already chosen a well-known revolutionary catchphrase of his grandfather—”All of us together”—as his campaign slogan, had perhaps the best potential to increase turnout in the election and provide a victory to the embattled reformist-pragmatist camp.
With Khomeini out of the game, this faction convened in late April to choose alternative candidates.
„These are terrorist attacks that have only one goal: to kill people indiscriminately and arbitrarily and to spread fear,“ Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert told a press conference.
Merkel’s government defended „Israel’s right to self-defense against these attacks“, he added.
(April 24, 2021)
The European Space Agency last year signed a deal worth 129 million euros ($156 million) to build a spacecraft for a joint project with NASA examining how to deflect an asteroid heading for Earth.
(01.05.2021)
The experts fell short. The group determined that none of Earth’s existing technologies could stop the asteroid from striking given the six-month time frame of the simulation. In this alternate reality, the asteroid crashed into eastern Europe.
The perpetrator of a drive-by shooting attack on Sunday that left three Israelis wounded is a U.S. citizen, Palestinian reports say. Residents of the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya identified the shooter, who is still on the loose, as Muntassir Shalabi.
(23.04.2021)
As Bourla said in an interview with Channel 12 News last month, Bourla was impressed with Netanyahu’s “obsessiveness” with purchasing the vaccines. The Yisrael HaYom report added that Bourla was also impressed by Netanyahu’s insistence on having the lawyers from both sides joining in on the conversations in order to prevent any legal deterrents to the deal.
Meeting at the Knesset, the two leaders said the meeting „went well.“
A number of parties that form the the ‚anti-Netanyahu‘ bloc, Yesh Atid, Yamina and Tikva Hadasha, have been discussing coalition plans with „positive energy“ in recent weeks.
Netanyahu’s refusal to appoint a justice minister is a direct assault on this nation. It is that simple.
His reasoning is also simple: Netanyahu does not want to fill the role with someone who is not subservient and willing to go along with coordinated efforts to escape his bribery trial.
„We believe that the nuclear deal is extremely valuable, that it should be maintained and it will correspond with the security interests of all states in the world and in the Middle East region,“ Ulyanov said. „I would say that for sure the nuclear deal is the best guarantee available that Iran doesn’t acquire nuclear weapons, the best guarantee!“
The official had harsh words for the policies on Iran of the previous US administration, headed by the hawkish former President Donald Trump.
An update in 2018 said that the scientific teams – who published many of their findings in international journals – had found four new pathogens and ten new bacteria while ‚more than 1,640 new viruses were discovered using metagenomics technology‘. Such research is based on extraction of genetic material from samples such as those collected by Prof Shi from bat faeces and blood in the cave networks of southern China.
Such extensive sampling led to Prof Shi’s rapid revelation last year of RaTG13, the closest known relative to the new strain of coronavirus that causes Covid.
It was stored at the Wuhan lab, the biggest repository of bat coronaviruses in Asia.
– Experts say Covid-19 is being turned into a ‚mild disease‘ in Britain, like the flu
– In an open letter they accuse Ministers and advisers of exaggerating the threat
– The scientists called on the Government to remove all Covid restrictions in June
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Germany’s Bundeskartellamt have signed up to the statement, which comes as countries build back following the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
With it, all 3 authorities are being clear that competition between businesses will remain important for consumers as well as other businesses who want to best serve their customers and grow.
(16.04.2021)
President Biden and Prime Minister Suga exchanged views on the impact of China’s actions on peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and the world, and shared their concerns over Chinese activities that are inconsistent with the international rules-based order, including the use of economic and other forms of coercion. We will continue to work with each other based on universal values and common principles. We also recognize the importance of deterrence to maintain peace and stability in the region. We oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea.
The light from this supernova first reached Earth in July 1054 and was witnessed by astronomers in Japan and China.
When the star exploded, it formed a neutron star, which is the dense core of a star that is about the size of a city like Chicago. This became a pulsar, or rapidly spinning neutron star, that is now located in the nebula.
There are, though, some people who can’t take the vaccine or, like pregnant women, are advised against it.
Banning these people from concerts and football matches would be divisive and discriminatory. As we plan for the peace, we should be vigilant in defence of liberty, where the state has reached too far into our lives, we should kick it out. No government in future should have the power to tell you whether you can see your children or grandchildren, nor should it be able to force you to publish your medical records as a condition for living a normal life.
Two diplomatic sources said Britain, France and Germany had already held talks with Iran on Monday.
(…)
Sir Keir stressed that using Covid status certificates in the UK was a complex issue, adding that he would scrutinise government proposals before deciding whether to oppose them.
But he said: „My instinct is that, as the vaccine is rolled out, as the number of hospital admissions and deaths go down, there will be a British sense that we don’t actually want to go down this road.“
Prior to the meeting, Gantz took to Facebook to announce his support of Opposition Leader Yair Lapid for the premiership and warned Mansour Abbas that “Bibi will use you” — referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his Israeli nickname.
By the morning of March 23, officials at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases released a letter from its data and safety monitoring board that’s been examining the AstraZeneca trial, Andrew Joseph reports for STAT News. The letter stated that AstraZeneca had used outdated data to reach its efficacy number. The move was unprecedented; usually, monitoring boards keep their correspondence with companies private.
“We just felt we could not remain silent. Because if we did remain silent, we could be understandably accused of covering something up. And we definitely didn’t want to be in that position,” says Anthony Fauci, director of the NIAID, to STAT News. “In my mind, it’s an unforced error by the company.”
(02.03.2021)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: Moscow expects that the European Union’s plans to introduce vaccine passports won’t discriminate against Russian nationals.
Britain is set to speed up its “world-leading” vaccine roll-out in coming months after the EU stopped short of imposing a ban on exports of jabs across the Channel, a Cabinet minister said today.
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick stressed that more vaccination supplies were due to arrive in the UK during the spring and summer.
“A right-wing policy is one thing,” the officials were quoted as saying. “But expressions against Muslims and Arabs by Members of Knesset [Israel Parliament] that are a part of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s government will harm and sabotage the normalization between Israel and Arab countries.”
In a damning verdict, the judges noted that „Israel is the only democratic country in the world where the right of citizens to enter their country has been so sweepingly restricted.“
On the figure of 3,000, the judges stated that this was set by the government before they had gathered data on the number of nationals who were stuck abroad, and ordered any future restrictions to be based on updated and comprehensive facts.
Israel is both a Jewish and democratic state, and as such, must act to make sure all its citizens enjoy equal rights under the law. Israel’s minorities include the Arab population (both Christian and Muslim), Bedouins (with their unique set of challenges), Druze, and Circassians. Each population must be listened to and helped individually.
Israel’s success as a nation, both financially and socially, goes hand in hand with the prosperity of its non-Jewish population. It relies heavily on the government’s ability to offer every citizen full rights and opportunities.
The objective of Global Britain is not to swagger or strike attitudes on the world stage. It is to use the full spectrum of our abilities, now amplified by record spending on both defence and science, to engage with and help the rest of the world. That is how we serve the British interest, and I mean the economic interest of people up and down the country. And as the vaccine programme begins to inspire a new global hope, we want to use this moment to heal, both literally and figuratively.
“We understand these are precautionary measures,“ WHO assistant director-general Mariangela Simao said. “I would like to say this to countries from other regions that are not Europe: That the vaccines (at issue) so far are from European manufacturing not vaccines that are provided through the COVAX facility.”
Bourla further noted that studies on the risk of the vaccine are also underway on pregnant women and younger children.
More distant quasars have been found in the past. But the new one is notable because it is “radio-loud” – it is the first time that radio jets have been able to be detected from such a distant object.
Quasars are among the brightest objects in the universe. They are found at the centre of some galaxies nd are powered by supermassive black holes – when the surrounding gas is eaten by the black hole, it throws out energy that travels across the universe and can be studied by scientists.
She teaches me every day what it means to be truly noble. Her words illustrate the pain and cruelty she’s experienced.
I know firsthand the sexism and racism institutions and the media use to vilify women and people of color to minimise us, to break us down and demonise us. We must recognize our obligation to decry malicious, unfounded gossip and tabloid journalism.
(02.03.2021)
Health experts say most at-risk Israelis are now vaccinated, and they expect the number of seriously ill coronavirus patients to drop
(04.03.2021)
“Netanyahu looked very carefully at what happened in the United States and he saw that Trump lost his presidency because of the COVID issue,” Hasson told Reuters. “So he thinks it’s going to help him, this matter (of vaccines).”
(March 3, 2021)
The “possible” plot, as described by the Capitol Police, appeared to be inspired by the pro-Trump conspiracy theory known as QAnon, according to a senior administration official who reviewed the intelligence warning. Intelligence analysts had spent weeks tracking online chatter ……..
In an interview last week on NBC, Bourla said: “I believe Israel has become the world’s lab right now, because they are using only our vaccine … and they vaccinated a very big part of their population, so we can study both economy and health indices.”
There are about 60 confirmed cases of reinfection globally.
„We assassinate people by drone strike and have a literal prison colony in Guantanamo but where we draw the line is ignoring the Senate parliamentarian when [she] says no to a minimum wage hike.“
Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei hinted at the likely response when he said that Tehran “can confidently predict that diplomatic initiatives will work well [to achieve] the desired outcome,” adding that the “diplomatic back-and-forths” are “the natural prelude to the return of all sides to commitments including the lifting of all sanctions in the near future.” If his statements reflect Tehran’s official position, then Iran evidently doesn’t intent to await the results of its presidential election in June, but is willing to begin talks now to exploit the momentum Biden has created.
„We continue to call for Covid-19 vaccine developers to submit their dossiers to WHO for review at the same time as they submit them to regulators in high-income countries,“ he said.
A WHO statement said it had approved the vaccine as produced by AstraZeneca-SKBio (Republic of Korea) and the Serum Institute of India.
„Europe is no more, no less than the world leader in vaccine production today. More than 75 per cent of vaccines worldwide are produced in Europe. Nevertheless, there is a crucial lack of supply,“ he said, adding the UK, Canada, Israel and the US are not facing the same shortages.
It comes as a group of Tory MPs call for a commitment to a „free life“ and ending of lockdown measures before May.
Senior backbencher Steve Baker said he wants the prime minister to „let us reclaim our lives, once and for all“.
The Prime Minister is expected to hold a televised Downing Street coronavirus briefing at 5pm.
Modelling by Sage presented to Downing Street and leaked to The Times predicts hospital admissions and deaths will more than halve over the next month.
Patients battling coronavirus in hospital currently number around 24,000, but this figure is expected to be slashed to around 9,000 by mid-March.
Yesterday 1,908 patients were taken to hospital in the UK, a massive drop in admission rates since the peak in January when around 4,500 were admitted on a single day.
Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, concurred, adding that he is also „not sure we’re ever going to really eliminate this virus. … It’s not like measles, where you get life-long sterilizing immunity.“
But even if the virus sticks around, new vaccines and new drugs to fight the virus mean it’s unlikely to cause severe illness in the future. Offit predicts „that eventually, it will cause fewer deaths than influenza.“
As of Jan. 29, about 35 million people in the U.S. had received one or both doses of a COVID vaccine. So far, only the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been granted Emergency Use Authorization in the U.S. by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). By the FDA’s own definition, the vaccines are still considered experimental until fully licensed.
According to the latest data, 453 of the 501 reported deaths were in the U.S. Fifty-three percent of those who died were male, 43% were female, the remaining death reports did not include the gender of the deceased. The average age of those who died was 77, the youngest reported death was of a 23-year-old. The Pfizer vaccine was taken by 59% of those who died, while the Moderna vaccine was taken by 41%.
“I am aware that alone a country can be a speedboat, while the EU is more like a tanker,” Von der Leyen said. “Before concluding a contract with a pharmaceutical company, the 27 member states had five full days to say whether they agreed or not.
“This naturally delays the process. Indeed, we must constantly put pressure on ourselves so that each step of the decision-making process is as fast and efficient as possible.
“But I am absolutely convinced that the European approach is the right one. On these vaccines, we worked faster than usual.
A senior Conservative MP urged anti-vaccination campaigners to keep going with their fight against government restrictions and told them NHS capacity figures were being „manipulated“ to exaggerate the scale of coronavirus, Sky News can reveal.
Another burning question which will determine how gung-ho ministers can be with easing restriction is to what extent the vaccines stop people from spreading Covid.
The Government has commissioned a study to investigate the vaccines and their role on transmission, which is being overseen by Public Health England. It is focused on frontline healthcare workers who’ve been jabbed.
(08.01.2021)
The MPs also express concern about the government presenting statistics in a misleading way, and urge ministers to take care to maintain public confidence in them.
„There is nothing to fear from openness,“ said Tory MP Greg Clark, who chairs the committee.
Embarrassingly for the bloc, it appears that Germany, the Netherlands, France and Italy had originally been looking to do a deal with AstraZeneca in May alongside the UK – but were blocked by the EU, which insisted it take over negotiations.
According to ITV’s Robert Peston: ‚The extra talks with the European Commission led to no material changes to the contract, but wasted time on making arrangements to make the vaccine with partner sites.‘
The health ministry insisted the claims made in German media last night were based on confused analysis of a study into the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca jab.
The prime minister expressed his support for police, municipal mayors and journalists who were targeted while reporting on the weekend’s violence. He said police had responded ‘adequately’ to the situation and dismissed the idea of calling in the army to enforce the curfew. We’re not taking these measures for fun,’ Rutte said. ‘We’re doing it because we’re fighting the virus and right now it’s the virus that’s taking away our freedom, and it’s because of the virus that we’re taking these rotten measures.’
Israel’s National Security Adviser Meir Ben Shabbat spoke to his US counterpart Jake Sullivan over the phone on Saturday.
The phone conversation made for the first contact between the office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the administration of US President Joe Biden.
The @EU_Commission will continue to insist with @AstraZeneca on measures to increase predictability and stability of deliveries, and acceleration of the distribution of doses/3.
Priti Patel today blamed AstraZeneca and Pfizer for an alarming slowdown in the UK’s vaccine rollout – amid warnings the target of giving jabs to the 14million most vulnerable people by mid-February is now ‚very tight‘.
The Home Secretary pointed the finger at the firms after the daily rate fell for a third consecutive day, saying ‚upgrades‘ at factories and ‚reconfiguring‘ of supply chains were causing delays.
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi was bullish about the longer date in a round of interviews this morning – and he also struck an optimistic tone about the prospects of easing lockdown from early March.
He said the restrictions could be taken away ‚gradually‘ from ‚two to three weeks after the middle of February, after we’ve protected the top four cohorts‘.
Mr Zahawi also insisted that second doses of vaccines will be given within 12 weeks of the first – after Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab refused to confirm yesterday that would be the case.
(30.05.2020)
Normally, two doctors are needed to certify a death, one of whom has been treating the patient or who knows them and has seen them recently. That has changed. For Covid-19 only, the certification can be made by a single doctor, and there is no requirement for them to have examined, or even met, the patient. A video-link consultation in the four weeks prior to death is now felt to be sufficient for death to be attributed to Covid-19.
– Ministers have been considering tightening lockdown amid fears over surge caused by mutant Covid strain
– Boris Johnson refused to rule out changes yesterday but hailed early signs the outbreak is flattening off
(30.05.2020)
Normally, two doctors are needed to certify a death, one of whom has been treating the patient or who knows them and has seen them recently. That has changed. For Covid-19 only, the certification can be made by a single doctor, and there is no requirement for them to have examined, or even met, the patient. A video-link consultation in the four weeks prior to death is now felt to be sufficient for death to be attributed to Covid-19.
Department of Health figures show the daily laboratory-confirmed death toll has risen 50 per cent week-on-week, with data suggesting the total number of coronavirus victims — both suspected and confirmed — has now passed the 100,000 mark.