Amethyst

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s air force launched retaliatory airstrikes early Thursday in Iran against alleged militant hideouts, killing at least nine people and further raising tensions between the neighbors. Thursday’s attack followed one by Iran inside Pakistan on Tuesday. Both appeared to target Baluch militant groups with similar separatist goals on either side of the Iran-Pakistan border. The countries accuse each other of providing safe haven to the groups in their respective territories. The attacks also come as the Middle East remains unsettled by Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Iran also staged airstrikes late Monday in Iraq and Syria over an Islamic State-claimed suicide bombing that killed over 90 people in early January. (more) https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-iran-air-force-strikes-638f2ee4ccfb1a56d26e8f28f7e91699

An exchange of bickering posts has been removed.

An off-topic diversion post with a disallowed private party social media video has been removed, along with an ensuing reply. Forum rules: "in factual areas such as but not limited to news, current affairs and health topics, social media cannot be used unless it is from a credible news media source or a government agency, and must include a link to the original source."

London CNN — Britain’s King Charles III will go into hospital next week for treatment for an enlarged prostate, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday. Buckingham Palace said the King sought treatment “in common with thousands of men each year” and that his condition is “benign.” The palace said that the hospital visit is for a “corrective procedure.” It added that the 75-year-old British sovereign’s public engagements will be postponed for a short period while he recuperates. The King was keen to share the details of his diagnosis to encourage other men who may be experiencing symptoms to get checked in line with public health advice, a royal source told CNN. (more) https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/17/uk/king-charles-hospital-prostate-gbr-intl/index.html Catherine, Princess of Wales, in hospital after abdominal surgery The Princess of Wales is to stay in hospital for up to two weeks after undergoing abdominal surgery. Kensington Palace said the procedure was planned and successful but the princess is not expected to resume royal duties for months. The palace did not disclose further details about her condition but said it is not cancer-related. (more) https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68009259

Since their introduction in December 2020, COVID-19 vaccines have reduced deaths due to the pandemic by at least 57%, saving more than 1.4 million lives in the WHO European Region. Most of those saved were aged 60 or older, the group at highest risk of severe illness and death from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The first vaccine booster alone saved 700 000 lives. These are among the findings of a new WHO/Europe study revealing that today’s known COVID-19 death toll in the Region, currently at 2.5 million, might be as high as 4 million without the vaccines. “We have constantly stressed the importance of the COVID-19 vaccines, particularly for older people and the most vulnerable. This study documents the result of countries implementing that advice. The evidence is irrefutable,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Region, covering 53 Member States across Europe and central Asia, has seen more than 277 million confirmed cases and over 2.5 million recorded deaths. (more) https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/16-01-2024-covid-19-vaccinations-have-saved-more-than-1.4-million-lives-in-the-who-european-region--a-new-study-finds Our study findings highlight that even during the Omicron period, when the severity of infections decreased relative to earlier periods of previous VOC circulation (10), COVID-19 vaccines still dramatically reduced mortality. We found that most lives were saved (67%) during the Omicron period, the longest VOC period, when Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 began to circulate widely despite already high vaccination coverage. Widespread infections occurred during the Omicron period likely due to a combination of lack of immunity, waning immunity against infection and a highly transmissible virus. ... We found the highest impact of vaccine was in adults ≥60 years-old, with 96% of all COVID-19 deaths averted by vaccine in 34 CAT occurred in this age group, even though only 27% of reported infections in adults occurred in people in this age group. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.01.12.24301206v1

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 17 (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that parties to the conflict in Gaza were "trampling" on international law and urged them to implement an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Guterres said the warring parties were "ignoring international law, trampling on the Geneva Conventions, and even violating the United Nations Charter". "The world is standing by as civilians, mostly women and children, are killed, maimed, bombarded, forced from their homes and denied access to humanitarian aid," he said. "I repeat my call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, and a process that leads to sustained peace for Israelis and Palestinians, based on a two-state solution." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls for a ceasefire, saying Israel will continue its offensive in Gaza until it defeats Hamas and recovers the hostages taken there during a deadly rampage by Hamas gunmen on Oct. 7. (more) https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-chief-says-parties-gaza-war-trampling-international-law-2024-01-17/

French President Emmanuel Macron has come off the fence and opened the way for policies that are unmistakably on the political right. That is the unanimous verdict after he gave a long, televised press conference on Tuesday evening. He promoted uniforms in schools, a crackdown on drugs gangs, and steps to boost France's declining birth rate. Left-wing commentators deplored his apparent shift from the crafted political balance of recent years. But they said they suspected all along the right was where his heart lay. Commentators on the right said they were delighted by his apparent conversion to their views, but suspected it was all a sham. (more) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68004289

Only one of the 113 cloned embryos survived - but ReTro the rhesus monkey is still going strong A cloned rhesus monkey has survived for more than two years and has led to "valuable insights" into the scientific process, according to experts. Scientists in China used a modified version of the same technique that was used to create Dolly the sheep, the world's first cloned mammal. Out of the 113 cloned embryos, 11 were implanted into surrogate monkeys, but only one survived. It has been named ReTro. The team said that although the success rate of producing viable and healthy clones is low - less than 1% in this case - it pushes forward the understanding of primate cloning. (more) https://news.sky.com/story/cloned-monkey-still-alive-after-two-years-so-are-we-nearer-to-replicating-humans-13049861

Former UK prime minister’s private correspondence revealed in documents obtained by POLITICO LONDON — Former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss secretly lobbied the British government to “expedite” the sale of defense equipment to China, documents released to POLITICO show. In a private letter dated August 2023, Truss — who casts herself as the most high-profile China hawk on the Tory backbenches — asked Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch to intervene on behalf of a British defense manufacturer hoping to sell military equipment to China. U.K. security officials had blocked Richmond Defence Systems — a defense firm based in Truss' Norfolk constituency — from exporting landmine disposal equipment to the People's Republic of China. Experts say the equipment could be used by Beijing in an invasion of Taiwan. (more) https://www.politico.eu/article/liz-truss-lobby-ministers-defense-exports-china/

Donald Trump's potential re-election in 2024 could leave Europe "on its own", Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo warned on Tuesday. Speaking at the first plenary session of the year in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, De Croo said Europe should "not fear" the prospect of a Trump comeback. "If 2024 brings us America First again, it will be more than ever Europe on its own," De Croo said. "We should, as Europeans, not fear that prospect," he added. "We should embrace it by putting Europe on a more solid footing, stronger, more sovereign, more self-reliant." ... A Republican takeover in the US presidential elections in November - whether Trumpian or not - threatens to severely disrupt the West's tightly aligned policy on Ukraine. (more) https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/01/16/donald-trumps-return-could-leave-europe-on-its-own-de-croo-warns

‘Unprovoked violation’: Iran strikes Syria, Iraq and Pakistan as Middle East tensions spike DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Within 24 hours, Iran launched missile and drone strikes on targets in three countries — Iraq, Syria and Pakistan — and took the extraordinary step of announcing its responsibility for the attacks, triggering anger from its neighbors. The developments have heightened concerns over the possibility of a wider Middle East conflict, as the Israel-Hamas war and daily Israeli bombardment of the Gaza enclave passes the 100-day mark. Baghdad recalled its ambassador to Iran after the Monday night attack on its northern semi-autonomous Kurdistan region killed four civilians and injured at least six. Tehran said the strike targeted an Israeli spy hub near the U.S. consulate in Erbil, the Kurdistan regional capital city. Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani rejected the Iranian claim, describing the attack as a “crime against the Kurdish people.” (more) https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/17/isolated-iran-strikes-syria-iraq-and-pakistan-further-sparking-middle-east-tensions.html

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — ABC News on Tuesday canceled the next Republican presidential debate after Nikki Haley said she wouldn't participate unless former President Donald Trump takes part in it, leaving Gov. Ron DeSantis as the only candidate committed to Thursday's event in New Hampshire. “We’ve had five great debates in this campaign,” Haley said in a statement, released as she campaigned in New Hampshire. “Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them. He has nowhere left to hide. The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it.” Her statement was released a day after the all-important Iowa caucuses, in which Trump marked a wide margin of victory over both Haley and DeSantis. With the two locked in a heated competition for second place in Iowa, Haley tried to make her electoral argument more about Trump than DeSantis, repeatedly echoing her refrain that her candidacy marks a turnabout from the “chaos” that follows the GOP front-runner. (more) https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/next-republican-debate-canceled-after-nikki-haley-says-she-ll-only-participate-if-donald-trump-does/ar-AA1n4pJ0

Pfizer wants Texas AG lawsuit over vaccine moved out of Lubbock court Updated: Dec 29, 2023 LUBBOCK, Texas — A lawsuit filed against Pfizer filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the 99th Judicial Court for Lubbock County was requested to be moved to the federal district court, according to court documents obtained by EverythingLubbock.com. Federal court records showed Pfizer filed a notice of removal on December 28, which stated the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas should have jurisdiction. ... Pfizer also said it did not misrepresent any product or goods. The response stated Pfizer is “immune” from the claims since it was acting under authorization from the federal government. The response asked that all claims be dismissed, and that Pfizer recovers legal fees from the lawsuit. https://www.ktsm.com/news/pfizer-wants-texas-ag-lawsuit-over-vaccine-moved-out-of-lubbock-court/

The rising number of US citizens declining vaccinations is threatening population immunity to certain diseases, according to two US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) leaders. “The situation has now deteriorated to the point that population immunity against some vaccine-preventable infectious diseases is at risk, and thousands of excess deaths are likely to occur this season due to illnesses amenable to prevention or reduction in severity of illness with vaccines,” according to FDA Commissioner Dr Robert Califf and Dr Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research writing in the journal, JAMA. ... They cite a recent measles outbreak in central Ohio involving 85 children, 36 of whom (42%) had to be hospitalized for complications. In addition, only 35% of people older than 65 have had the updated COVID-19 vaccine (XBB.1.5 monovalent), which is about half the rate in this age group in the UK. (more) https://healthpolicy-watch.news/fda-chief-warns-us-immunity-is-at-risk-as-more-people-decline-vaccinations/ January 5, 2024 Is Vaccination Approaching a Dangerous Tipping Point? To counter the current trend, we urge the clinical and biomedical community to redouble its efforts to provide accurate plain-language information regarding the individual and collective benefits and risks of vaccination. Such information is now needed because vaccines have been so successful in achieving their intended effects that many people no longer see the disturbing morbidity and mortality from infections amenable to vaccines. For example, smallpox has been eradicated, and polio has been eliminated from the US, through effective vaccination campaigns. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2813910

A slightly different take on the original study report: Strenuous Exercise Can Trigger Severe Damage to Muscle Tissue, Long Covid Study Shows (Bloomberg) -- Exercise is good for health, but it can be harmful for some long Covid sufferers, new research shows. Those experiencing debilitating crashes after strenuous activity — a condition known as post-exertional malaise — risk severe tissue damage from hardcore exercise, scientists in the Netherlands found. ... The exercise test triggered post-exertional malaise in all of the patients and lasted for three weeks in some of them, said Rob Wust, an assistant professor in muscle physiology who co-led the study. All of the participants with long Covid, including former bodybuilders, taekwondo players, and professional athletes, have had to stop full-time work since developing the coronavirus-induced condition. ... In the meantime, long Covid patient support groups recommend a “stop, rest, pace” approach to avoid severe crashes triggered by certain levels of physical, mental or emotional activity. (more) https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/strenuous-exercise-can-trigger-severe-damage-to-muscle-tissue-long-covid-study-shows-1.2019465

As COVID cases rise over the winter, health experts are finding that it’s taking longer to figure out if someone is infected. When COVID-19 antigen tests — also known as rapid tests — first came out, it would take an average of one to two days after symptoms started for someone to test positive. Now health experts are finding that it’s taking as long as four days after symptoms appear for someone to test positive. ... The problem is: people who initially test negative and then don’t test later may be unknowingly spreading the virus. (more) https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/health/covid-rise-rapid-test-infection/3418057/

A large staggered cohort study from primary care patients in the UK, Spain, and Estonia finds that COVID-19 vaccination consistently reduced the risk of long-COVID symptoms. The study is published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. ... In total, more than 10 million vaccinated people and 10 million unvaccinated people from each of the three countries and four databases were compared, and effectiveness of vaccination with either ChAdOx1 (AstraZeneca) and BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) was assessed. ... Across all four staggered cohorts in all three countries, vaccination was associated with a lowered risk of developing long COVID. And a slightly stronger preventative effect was seen for the first dose of BNT162b2 than for ChAdOx1, the authors said. Vaccine efficacy (VE) against long COVID ranged from 29% to 52%. (more) https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/more-evidence-vaccination-reduces-risk-long-covid "In conclusion, our study shows the clinical effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines to prevent long COVID, highlighting yet another benefit of vaccination, particularly for adults. These findings were consistent across three European countries and different populations, and were robust to multiple definitions of long COVID and sensitivity analyses." https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(23)00414-9/fulltext#seccestitle140

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would no longer pursue reconciliation with South Korea and called for rewriting the North’s constitution to eliminate the idea of shared statehood between the war-divided countries, state media said Tuesday. The historic step to discard a decades-long pursuit of a peaceful unification, which was based on a sense of national homogeneity shared by both Koreas, comes amid heightened tensions where the pace of both Kim’s weapons development and the South’s military exercises with the United States have intensified in a tit-for-tat. Some experts say Kim could be aiming to diminishing South Korea’s voice in regional security matters and communicate more clearly that he would seek to deal directly with the United States over the nuclear standoff, which has deepened amid disagreements over the stringent U.S.-led sanctions over his growing nuclear weapons program. (more) https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-kim-jong-un-abolish-south-relations-7773f5b39f6d4c5a52acf9fe8486fe04

(CNN) -- Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Monday launched ballistic missiles at what it said was a spy base for Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad in northern Iraq, and at “anti-Iran terror groups” in Syria, in the latest escalation of hostilities that further risks spiraling into a wider regional conflict. The strikes were condemned by the United States as “reckless” and imprecise. Iranian forces said the midnight missile strike in Iraq destroyed “one of the main espionage headquarters” of Israel in Erbil, capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, in response to what they said were Israeli attacks that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders and members of the Iranian resistance front. At least four civilians were killed and six others injured in the attack, according to a statement early Tuesday by the Security Council of the Kurdistan region. (more) https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/16/middleeast/iran-missiles-kurdistan-syria-israel-intl-hnk/index.html

(CNN) -- Donald Trump is expected back in a New York courthouse this week as he splits his time between the campaign trail and the courtroom with the 2024 presidential primary season officially underway. The former president will be back on trial beginning Tuesday in Manhattan federal court for a jury to determine how much he will pay in damages for defaming columnist E. Jean Carroll in 2019 statements he made denying her rape allegations. This is the second trial over Carroll’s allegations that Trump raped her in a luxury department store dressing room in the spring of 1996. In the first trial, a jury found Trump sexually abused and defamed Carroll and awarded her $5 million for his statements in 2022 attacking her and denying the allegations. ... The defamatory statements at issue in this trial were made in June 2019, when Trump was president. Trump said in part, “I’ll say it with great respect: Number one, she’s not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?” (more) https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/16/politics/trump-e-jean-carroll-what-to-watch/index.html

Vivek Ramaswamy dropping out of presidential race following Iowa caucuses Ohio businessman Vivek Ramaswamy is suspending his presidential campaign, ending his bid for the Republican nomination after coming in fourth in the Iowa caucuses. "As of this moment, we are going to suspend this presidential campaign," Ramaswamy told his supporters and reporters. Ramaswamy said he's offered former President Donald Trump his full endorsement, and said he would appear with Trump on Tuesday. CBS News projects Trump will win the Iowa caucuses. The news follows a lackluster performance in the Iowa caucuses and a failure to maintain the short-lived momentum he had garnered in the summer after the second Republican debate. (more) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/vivek-ramaswamy-drops-out-2024-presidential-race-iowa-caucuses/

Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith defy prime minister by supporting rightwing challenges to legislation Rishi Sunak is facing a Conservative meltdown over the Rwanda deportation bill after two deputy chairs said they would support rebel amendments aimed at blocking international human rights laws. Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith have defied the prime minister by backing rightwing challenges to the bill, which will be debated by parliament on Tuesday. They will join as many as 70 other MPs said to be considering abstaining or opposing the controversial legislation. The high-profile rebellion on Monday evening of two “red wall” MPs will be regarded as a direct threat to Sunak’s authority. The prime minister will now have to contemplate sacking them from their party jobs. (more) https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/jan/15/sunak-faces-tory-meltdown-as-deputy-chairs-back-rwanda-bill-rebellion

A cold spell fuelled by wintry Arctic air is set to continue throughout Tuesday and into the week ahead. Met Office yellow warnings for snow and ice are in place for Scotland, Northern Ireland, much of northern England and north Wales throughout the day. Temperatures fell below freezing across the UK overnight as biting winds continued to blow in from the north. Travel disruption is likely, especially in north-west England and Scotland. (more) https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-67986072

Experts have warned new Covid-19 variant Juno will surge as children go back to school More than 7,000 hospital admissions and deaths in the UK could have been avoided in summer 2022 if people had received all their Covid jabs, research shows. Experts found that between a third and a half of people had not had the recommended number of Covid vaccinations and boosters by 1 June, 2022: almost 27 million people in England alone. ... According to the findings, if the UK had been fully vaccinated in June 2022, there might have been 210 fewer five- to 15-year-olds being hospitalised or dying due to severe Covid illness; 1544 fewer 16- to 71-year-olds; and 5426 fewer over-75-year-olds. (more) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/vaccination-covid-deaths-uk-b2478783.html

A series of off-topic posts have been removed. The topic here is Yemen and Iran-related, not Afghanistan or other forum members.