Month: October 2024

Vladimir Zelensky has played the atomic card to leverage Western support

Kiev has the capability to build a nuclear weapon “in a few weeks,” a high-ranking Ukrainian official has told Bild, the German tabloid reported on Thursday after Vladimir Zelensky announced his atomic ambitions.

Ukraine needs either membership in NATO or nuclear weapons, Zelensky said on Friday in Brussels, arguing in favor of his “victory plan” to end the conflict with Russia.

This prompted Bild to reveal that a Ukrainian official involved in weapons procurement told them “a few months ago”that Kiev was willing to go nuclear.

“We have the material, we have the knowledge. If the order is given, we will only need a few weeks to have the first bomb,” the unnamed official said, according to the German tabloid, adding that the West should “think less about Russia’s red lines and more about ours.”

In his speech on Thursday, Zelensky claimed to have informed former – and possibly future – US President Donald Trump about Kiev’s atomic aspirations.

Nuclear War Simulation – NATO vs Russia

In our most scientifically realistic simulation to date, we show what a nuclear war between Russia and the United States might look like today.

It is based on detailed modeling of nuclear targets, missile trajectories, and the effects of blasts, EMPs, and smoke on the climate and food resources.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has put on hold a trial of Novavax’s (NVAX.O) COVID-influenza and its standalone flu vaccines after a participant who took the combination shot reported nerve damage, the company said on Wednesday.

Its shares plunged as much as 24%, and if losses hold, it would wipe off nearly $400 million from the vaccine maker’s market capitalization.

The stock drop also reflect concerns on whether the hold would impact Novavax’s partnership with French drugmaker Sanofi (SASY.PA), according to one analyst.

The Food and Drug Administration halted Novavax’s trial of a combination vaccine for COVID and influenza, as well as a standalone flu shot, after a participant suffered a serious adverse event, the company said on Wednesday.

Novavax’s share price fell more than 18% on the news.

US FDA pauses Novavax's trial of combo COVID-flu shot on safety concerns https://t.co/4n8oWfr3Q1 pic.twitter.com/0EKOGyCBuI

— Reuters U.S. News (@ReutersUS) October 16, 2024

Novavax Inc. shares experienced a significant drop of as much as 24% after the United States regulators issued a hold on the company’s experimental influenza and Covid-19 combination vaccines. This decision came after a volunteer in a study developed a severe nerve disorder. According to a statement released by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the pause affects both Novavax’s standalone influenza shots and the combination vaccine.

Robert Walker, the Chief Medical Officer of Novavax, stated that the company does not believe a direct link has been established between the vaccine and the reported neuropathy case, and they are actively collaborating with regulators to clarify the issue. At 11:54 AM, Novavax shares fell 18%, marking their steepest decline since July.

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Novavax shares dropped 24% as US regulators paused its flu and Covid-19 combination vaccine trials due to a reported nerve disorder in a study participant.#Novavax #Covid19 #InfluenzaVaccine #StockMarket #VaccineSafetyhttps://t.co/N24aFx1dpp

— AlgoTurk (@AlgoTurk_usa) October 16, 2024

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Liam Payne is dead after a fall from his hotel balcony in Argentina … TMZ has learned.

The former One Direction singer died Wednesday evening. Several witnesses at the hotel where he was staying in Buenos Aires tell us Liam fell from his room on the 3rd floor of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel. We do not know if it was intentional or accidental.

He had been in Argentina recently for a Niall Horan concert earlier in the month, and the 1D bandmates actually reunited at the show.

Liam was only 16 years old when he joined One Direction … and the group became the biggest boyband in the world after their 2010 launch on “The X Factor.” The band ultimately broke up in 2015, and he was considered one of their main songwriters.

Celebrities like Paris Hilton, Zedd and Charlie Puth took to social media to express their sorrow over the loss of the 31-year-old singer. 

“So upsetting to hear the news of @Liampayne passing,” Hilton wrote on her X account along with a crying emoji. “Sending love and condolences to his family & loved ones. RIP my friend.”

“We Don’t Talk Anymore” singer Charlie Puth wrote on his Instagram Story that he was “in shock” over his death. 

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Liam Payne, former One Direction member, dead at 31 after "falling from the third floor" of his hotel room in Argentina. https://t.co/USTTBJ4tN7

— 𝕏 (@AlertChannel) October 16, 2024

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People have started catching a new Covid variant that could soon take off and become the dominant type, according to scientists. 

Identified in Germany, in June, cases of the XEC variant have since emerged in the UK, US, Denmark and several other countries, say users on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

It has some new mutations that might help it spread this autumn, although vaccines should still help prevent severe cases, experts say.

For those more likely to become seriously ill from Covid, the NHS offers a free booster shot.

The vaccines have been updated to better match recent variants, although not XEC, which has emerged from earlier Omicron subvariants. 

Prof Francois Balloux, Director of the Genetics Institute at University College London, told BBC News that although XEC has a “slight transmission advantage” over other recent Covid variants, vaccines should still offer good protection. 

He says it is possible XEC will become the dominant subvariant over the winter though.

**🦠 Rapid Spread of New COVID Variant XEC**

The XEC variant, first identified in Germany in June, has now reached 29 countries, including the U.S. and UK. This subvariant of Omicron, which combines KS.1.1 and KP.3.3, spreads more quickly and shows typical COVID symptoms like… pic.twitter.com/NFgLI8H878

— 𝕏 (@AlertChannel) October 16, 2024

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North Korea blew up the northern parts of inter-Korean roads, amid rising tensions over the North’s claim that South Korea flew drones over its capital.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Pyongyang “conducted an explosive operation aimed at blocking the connection roads” on Tuesday.

As a response, the South Korean military said it “conducted counter-fire in areas south of the military demarcation line.”

South Korea’s military provided a video that showed a cloud of white and gray smoke emerging from an explosion at a road near the border town of Kaesong. Another video showed smoke emerging from a coastal road near the eastern border.

Although the roads and railways connecting the two countries have long been shut down, North Korean state media reported that the new measures were aimed at safeguarding national security and preventing war.

Earlier this year, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared the South his country’s “principal enemy” and since then, the regime has laid fresh mines, erected anti-tank barriers, and deployed missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads along the already heavily fortified border.

Following the dual incidents, China called for both sides on the Korean peninsula to avoid a “further escalation.”

“Tensions on the peninsula do not serve the common interests of all parties,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing. “The priority is to avoid further escalation of conflicts.”

Beijing, which is North Korea’s most important ally and economic benefactor, said it was “paying attention to the development of the peninsula’s situation.”

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A magnitude 6.1 earthquake has been recorded in eastern Turkey, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center reported.

According to the organization, the quake struck 47 kilometers east of the city of Malatya which has a population of some 441,000. The epicenter was at a depth of nine kilometers.

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), in turn, reported that a magnitude 5.9 earthquake had been felt in three provinces of the country. According to the agency, the epicenter was located in the Malatya Province’s Kale municipality. The quake was also felt in the neighboring provinces of Diyarbakir and Elazig.

🚨 A powerful 6.0 magnitude earthquake just struck Malatya, Turkey 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/1TCyOcu4mq

— EUUnimus (@EUUnimus) October 16, 2024

A Turkish TV station captured the moment an earthquake struck the nation during their live news broadcast!

🚨⚡️ A Turkish TV station captured the moment an earthquake struck the nation during their live news broadcast! #Earthquake #Turkey #LiveTV #ShockingMomentpic.twitter.com/EomVoAkjIu

— 24/7WeatherPhenomenaObserver (@24weather24) October 16, 2024

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The Forsa Institute wanted to know in a representative survey whether the corona vaccinations were “tolerated well overall”.

A majority answers this question in the affirmative. But there are also many Germans who obviously have had completely different experiences.

More than one in six Germans has experienced side effects in connection with a corona vaccination. This is the result of a representative survey by the opinion research institute Forsa on behalf of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (NOZ) and the online magazine “Multipolar”.

NEW – More than one in six Germans has experienced side effects in connection with a corona vaccination, according to a representative survey by the Forsa Institute — NOZ pic.twitter.com/rjtc7AgrFU

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) October 15, 2024

In the Meantime: The percentage of Americans who say they have a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the mass media has fallen to a record low, according to a new Gallup survey — Axios

You can wonder why this is…

A large gap remains between Republicans and Democrats, with only 12% of the former expressing trust in media reporting against 54% of the latter. However, the partisan gap has actually been narrowing in the last couple of years. According to data aggregated by Gallup, in 2022, for instance, some 70% of Democrats expressed confidence in the media. 

The pollster sampled 1,007 adult Americans living across the country. The survey was conducted over the first two weeks of September via phone interviews. Respondents were picked randomly for the survey.

Gallup first asked Americans the question back in 1972 and has conducted the media trust poll on an almost yearly basis since 1997. While in the 1970s, the trust rate hovered around the 70% mark, it had deteriorated to around 55% by the late 1990s, and has continued to drop over the past two decades.

NEW – The percentage of Americans who say they have a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the mass media has fallen to a record low, according to a new Gallup survey — Axios pic.twitter.com/CwfUR549Ch

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) October 15, 2024

Brought to you by Pfizer pic.twitter.com/n8Rk0KroRD

— Jeff pontz (@827js) October 12, 2024

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Officials tell Washington Post that Israel will carry out attacks against Islamic Republic before U.S. election, plans to wrap up Lebanon operation ‘in coming weeks’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the United States that Israel will limit its retaliatory attacks against Iran to military targets and will forgo attacks on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and oil facilities, according to a report in the Washington Post.

The paper cited two sources as saying that Netanyahu make the comments to U.S. President Joe Biden during their phone conversation last week – the first time the two leaders had spoked in more than seven weeks. In response, the Prime Minister’s Office said that “we are listening to the opinions of the U.S. administration, but we will make our final decisions based on Israel’s national interest.”

🚨Update: Netanyahu tells U.S. that Israel will strike Iranian military, not nuclear or oil, targets, officials say – Washington Post pic.twitter.com/3d5EsttmJY

— US Civil Defense News (@CaptCoronado) October 14, 2024

 ISRAEL APPROVES STRIKE PLAN ON IRAN!!

Israel reportedly launched a cyber attack targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, escalating tensions between the two nations. This action raises concerns about potential retaliation and further conflict in the region.

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