Month: October 2024

According to NATO, around 2,000 military personnel will participate in the Steadfast Noon exercises, operating from eight air bases across Europe.

Over the next two weeks, training will be conducted at air bases in Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as over the North Sea, in the airspace of the United Kingdom and Denmark.

The exercises will involve more than 60 aircraft from 13 NATO countries, including modern fighter jets capable of carrying U.S. nuclear bombs stored in Europe, long-range bombers, surveillance planes, and refueling aircraft.

“Nuclear deterrence is the cornerstone of Allied security,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said. “Steadfast Noon is an important test of the Alliance’s nuclear deterrent and sends a clear message to any adversary that NATO will protect and defend all Allies.”

NATO’s nuclear exercise is a routine and recurring training activity that happens every October. Steadfast Noon involves 2,000 military personnel from eight airbases and a variety of aircraft types, including nuclear-capable jets, bombers, fighter escorts, refuelling aircraft and planes capable of reconnaissance and electronic warfare. This year’s exercise involves flights mainly over host countries Belgium and the Netherlands and in airspace over Denmark, the United Kingdom and the North Sea. Planning for the exercise began a year ago and thirteen Allies will send aircraft to take part in the drills.

🚨Update: Moscow on notice!! Massive NATO nuclear exercise launches on Monday in Central Europe, in preparation for war with Russia!! pic.twitter.com/aleNOBUNNl

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

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North Korea is getting ready to blow up roads that cross the heavily militarised border with South Korea, Seoul said on Monday, amid an escalating war of words after the North accused its rival of sending drones over its capital Pyongyang.

North Korean troops were working under camouflage on the roads on their side of the border near the west and east coasts that are likely preparations to blow up the roads, possibly as early as on Monday, South Korea’s military spokesman said.

Kim announced a major policy shift last year, when he redefined the South as a hostile state rather than a temporarily occupied part of Korea. In practical terms, this means that Pyongyang no longer seeks unification of the nation, which was divided after the 1950s civil war and a US-led international intervention.

Last week, Pyongyang accused Seoul of sending drones into its airspace and warned that its military was preparing to open fire if a similar incident happens again. The robotic aircraft reportedly dropped propaganda leaflets on three separate occasions this month, including Friday.

BREAKING:

Korea JoongAng Daily: Kim Jong-un orders artillery units in DMZ area to be on full alert

Eight artillery brigades have received the order. The order comes amid rising tensions with South Korea. pic.twitter.com/5u0WZtbwP6

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) October 13, 2024

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The exercises will practice assaults against targets on the island, as well as blocking key ports and areas, according to the PLA

Beijing has launched joint army, navy, air force, and rocket force exercises around the island of Taiwan, a military spokesperson announced on Monday.

The combined drills will test the Chinese forces’ joint capabilities and serve as a warning to Taiwanese separatist forces on the island, Senior Captain Li Xi, a spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command, said.

“On October 14, the PLA Eastern Theater Command is dispatching its army, navy, air force, and rocket force troops to conduct joint military drills code-named ‘Joint Sword-2024B’ in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south, and east of Taiwan Island,” Li announced.

Earlier in the day, China began the Joint Sword-2024B military drills around Taiwan to practice jointly assaulting, blocking and taking control of key ports and areas of the island, according to spokesman for the PLA Eastern Theatre Command Li Xi.

Update:

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has convened a national security meeting in response to large-scale drills by Beijing’s forces around the self-governing island.

In a statement on Monday, Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo said that the Taiwanese military was “fully monitoring” Beijing’s exercises, adding that Taipei remains committed to “maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region.”

“China should face the reality of the existence of the Republic of China [Taiwan] and respect the Taiwanese people’s choice of a democratic and free way of life,” she said, vowing that the island would “continue to defend the free and democratic constitutional system” in the face of “external threats.”

🚨 **BREAKING: Chinese Military Surrounds Taiwan, North Korea Mobilizes**

Reports indicate that the Chinese military has fully surrounded Taiwan, intensifying fears of an impending conflict. In a parallel development, North Korea has mobilized its forces, raising tensions… pic.twitter.com/TRt6Pf37kQ

— 𝕏 (@AlertChannel) October 14, 2024

China’s military has started a new round of war games with ships and aircraft operating near Taiwan. Beijing said that the wargames were aimed at sending a “stern warning” to “separatist” forces on the self-ruled island.

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US officials have warned of the threat to life posed by Hurricane Milton, which briefly became a category five storm before returning to category four as it heads towards Florida.

Milton is still packing ferocious winds of up to 155mph (250km/h) as it moves past the northern edge of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. Forecasters from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) say “potentially catastrophic” storm surges are possible along coastal areas.

The storm is expected to hit the heavily populated city of Tampa Bay with full force on Wednesday, less than two weeks after the state was hit by Hurricane Helene.

Floridians have been told to prepare for the state’s largest evacuation effort in years.

Hurricane Milton is about to hit Florida, and people have been told that if they choose to stay in evacuation areas, they will die

The extremely dangerous storm intensified into Category five on Monday evening, and people are now scrambling to evacuate dozens of Florida counties pic.twitter.com/4zlMjMTfTT

— Metro (@MetroUK) October 8, 2024

Warnings over Hurricane Milton come just 10 days after Hurricane Helene – the deadliest mainland storm since Katrina in 2005 – pummelled the US south-east, killing at least 225 people. Hundreds more are missing.

At least 14 of those deaths were in Florida, where 51 of 67 counties are now under emergency warnings as Milton approaches.

“Unfortunately, some of the Helene victims are in the path of this storm,” DeSantis said.

Hurricane Milton to intensify and swell in size before unleashing on Florida and more top headlineshttps://t.co/COSe9A39xE

— BREAKING NEWZ Alert (@MustReadNewz) October 8, 2024

36 shelters are now open to those fleeing Hurricane Milton’s path – DeSantis published at 13:14 British Summer Time 13:14 BST

DeSantis once again urges residents to move away from low-lying areas and seek shelter if they live in mobile homes of RVs.

He says locals “have options” and moving to higher ground should make properties more likely to withstand the force of a Category 3 or Category 4 hurricane.

Highways out of Florida are backed up for miles as panicked residents attempt to flee the state before Hurricane Milton’s landfall later this week.

Hurricane Milton stands at a Category 5 now, the highest rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. It is expected to have winds stronger than 157 miles per hour.

In Hillsborough County, home to nearly 1.5 million people in the Tampa Bay Area, residents are scrambling as local leadership orders the evacuation

“If you remain there, you could die. My men and women could die trying to rescue you. They are heroes, but please do not put them in that situation.”

Supermarket shelves around Tampa Bay are barren as panicked evacuees grab what they can before hitting the road.

Wind speeds are currently 150mph (240km/h) with higher gusts, and the eye of the category four storm is moving across the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

It’s about 520 miles (835km) south west of Tampa, Florida and is expected to make landfall on Wednesday night.

This> US Air Force base near Tampa evacuated, US Defense official says.

— G̷-̷B̷z̷ -̷ ̷ג̷ב̷ר̷י̷א̷ל (@GZeroConspiracy) October 8, 2024

"Milton" is coming to Florida: the news broadcast modeled its strength and estimated consequences

Its strength exceeds "Katrina" from 2005, forecasters say the hurricane will be one of the strongest, if not the strongest, in history.

"Katrina" caused 1,836 deaths and $125… pic.twitter.com/6WxShBBUxT

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) October 9, 2024

LIVE! Hurricane Milton Live Tracker | CAT 5 CONFIRMED

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North Atlantic hurricane season 2024 is particularly busy with tropical systems this month, with multiple systems ongoing. One system caught our attention as it turned towards Europe—a major hurricane Kirk. It is forecast to accelerate across the North Atlantic and become an intense post-tropical storm, impacting France, the northwestern tip of Spain, and the UK.

After Monday, the system will accelerate across the North Atlantic and head for Europe’s impact. A gradual transition into an extratropical storm is expected Monday night when hurricane Kirk will be moving eastward to the north of the Azores.

Kirk will continue as an intense post-tropical storm after Monday and reach NW Spain and France by Wednesday and Thursday.

Given the system’s significant tropical origin, its impact could be severe for France and even further inland across Benelux and Germany Wednesday night.

Hurricane Kirk is racing towards Europe as we speak but will lose its tropical characteristics in the next few hours. It is still expected to be a powerful extratropical cyclone when it makes landfall along France’s western coast midweek. pic.twitter.com/pvzbRrdURW

— Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) October 6, 2024

Hurricane #Kirk continues to track toward Europe & will transition to a non-tropical storm over the next several days. However, the storm will spread strong wind gusts & heavy rain from #France & northern #Spain to northern #Germany & the Benelux region Wednesday & Thursday. pic.twitter.com/BNJwmxI4Ii

— Jason Nicholls 💙 (@jnmet) October 6, 2024

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The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine provided children and teens in England with only about 14 to 15 weeks of protection against testing positive for the virus, according to a preprint study of over 1.7 million children ages 5 to 15 in the English National Healthcare System (NHS).

Researchers investigating the safety and effectiveness of Pfizer’s vaccine in fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated, and unvaccinated children and teens, also found cases of myocarditis and pericarditis only in vaccinated children.

“This study clearly shows that Pfizer’s COVID vaccine provides almost no benefit to children and adolescents, but does increase their risk of myocarditis and pericarditis,” said Brian Hooker, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Children’s Health Defense. “It begs the question: Why does the CDC continue to recommend these unlicensed shots for kids? Where is the data they use to support their statement that the benefits of these vaccines outweigh the risks?”

The study found that vaccinated children required slightly fewer emergency room visits and hospital stays, but that those outcomes were extremely rare in children and teens across all groups.

Study of 1.7 Million Kids and Teens Who Got Pfizer COVID Vaccine Found Myopericarditis Only in Vaxed Groupshttps://t.co/KSIvQhzNMR

— GreenOnions (@TexasRebelMAGA) October 6, 2024

In total, 410,463 teenagers who received one dose of the vaccine were matched to unvaccinated controls, and 220,929 adolescents who received two shots were matched to single-vaccinated controls.

Of the 1,262,784 children in the adolescent part of the study — vaccinated and unvaccinated — there were only 72 emergency room visits, 90 COVID-19 hospitalizations — three of which were critical care for unvaccinated children — and no deaths.

There were nine cases of pericarditis and three cases of myocarditis, all in the vaccinated group.

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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is planning a serious and major retaliation to Iran’s attack and hopes for assistance from partners in the region, the Israeli Army Radio broadcaster reported on Saturday, citing sources familiar with the matter. 

“It will be serious and significant, we are in the training center and we are doing this most of the time. This will have consequences for Iran, and they should understand this,” the source was quoted as saying. 

Israel expects to receive support in its offensive operations from regional partners, the IDF radio said.

US media previously reported that Israel had warned Washington of the possibility of strikes against Iran’s nuclear and oil infrastructurefollowing Iran’s missile strike on Israel. However, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Thursday that Israel was not considering launching strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and that the US was also against such an attack.

Israeli media:
Army Prepares to Launch Surface-to-Surface Missiles Towards Iran pic.twitter.com/ZCf1LLRVf0

— S p r i n t e r (@SprinterFamily) October 5, 2024

The full destruction in southern Lebanon is mounting as cities in the region increasingly resemble those of the Gaza Strip, following Israeli military incursions. The escalating conflict has led to significant damage in several urban areas.

#BREAKING #Israel #Lebanon Destruction in southern Lebanon is mounting as cities in the region increasingly resemble those of the Gaza Strip, following Israeli military incursions. The escalating conflict has led to significant damage in several urban areas. pic.twitter.com/SAJ89R5kd5

— The National Independent (@NationalIndNews) October 5, 2024

Western Nations Urge Israel to Avoid Striking Iran’s Oil Sites, Fearing Global Economic Chaos

Key Western nations see a strike on Iran as likely inevitable but believe Israel has yet to finalize the attack’s details. The U.S. worries that targeting Iran’s oil reserves could boost energy prices and spark a regional war, especially with the presidential election approaching

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