Do not prevent covid "from the outside"; mutating mix of covi variants harms

 Research, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

News on disease control, CCP

News (1)

Beijing said that epidemic prevention should not be "locked from the outside". People's irony: It took three years to remember

Reporter : Luo Tingting/ Editor: Wen Hui / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/09/30/a103540299.html / Image : A security guard stands outside the entrance of a closed shopping mall during the virus lockdown in Shanghai's Jing'an district. (Getty Images)

The epidemic continues to spread across CCP China, and the authorities are still taking epidemic prevention measures to force zero-covid. However, an official from the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Communist Party of China said recently that the method of "locking the door" should not be adopted in concentration or home isolation, causing public ridicule: "It took three years to remember that the door is not allowed to be locked outside?"

Inn the afternoon of 29 September 2022, the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council of the Communist Party of China held a press conference on the "November" holiday epidemic prevention and control. Lei Zhenglong, director of the Department of Communication and Prevention of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention and a first-level inspector, said at the meeting, "When taking centralized or home isolation measures, you must not use the method of locking the door."

The above-mentioned requirements of the CCP’s official government have caused ridicule in the Weibo comment area: “It’s been three years, and you just remembered to say this. Are there still fewer locked doors, locked unit doors, and fire doors?”, “Are you only connected to electricity? Internet access? It's been three years before I remembered?" "Laughing to death, it's been almost three years, and it's almost over, we just realized that we shouldn't lock the door and control it."

"I was locked inside", "Isn't it illegal detention? Lock the door outside", "That is to say, you can't control it if you don't listen to it or not." "Did the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention say it works? Come out and tell me, whoever dares to lock the door will be taken away!"

Weibo netizen "Naughty Guo Beiler" commented, "The impact of the virus is getting smaller and smaller, but the chaos of prevention and control is getting more and more. It's hard to say that if you lock it from the outside, it's different from going to jail. Really. In an emergency, how to escape and avoid danger, and die because of isolation, is the biggest joke."

He said bluntly, "It's been three years, and there are no surprises and nothing to be caught off guard. Even if it takes a week to formulate a policy, it will not cause such chaos. In the end, this is laziness and mediocrity. There is a one-size-fits-all and plus-size.”

"Mu Xintong" warned, "During the earthquake in Chengdu, I found that the doors of many communities were locked. At that time, many people complained, if there is an earthquake or a house fire, the doors are locked, how to escape?"

Since the covid outbreak in 2019, the authorities have been taking mandatory quarantine and epidemic prevention measures. In many places, iron wires and chains are used to lock doors; seal doors; barbed wire to seal community or unit doors; In the event of sudden disasters such as fires or earthquakes, it is difficult for trapped people to escape.

An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 occurred in Luding County, Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province at noon on 5 September 2022. The earthquake was felt strongly in many surrounding areas. However, due to the lockdown of the epidemic, many communities and building doors were locked. People fled in panic, only to find that the door was locked and could not escape. Some people rose up to resist and kicked the door directly; some tore the iron gate and confronted the epidemic prevention personnel. The related video went viral on social media, causing a public outcry.

People in Chengdu encountered the absurd situation of "prevention of the epidemic is still the top priority in the event of a major earthquake", and a mocking joke was posted on the Internet: "Don't go out during the epidemic, don't let you stay at home during the earthquake, and kill them all."

News (2) to (9) / Source : Erin Plater, Fortune / https://fortune.com/well/2022/09/24/new-covid-omicron-variants-subvariants-evade-monoclonal-antibodies-bebtelovimab-recombinants-convergent-evolution-sars-immune-evasion/

News (2)

"The tools are getting picked off" due to a mutating mix of covi variants, fewer and less effective treatments

Image : Nurse Salina Padilla, left, prepares Dr. Prabakar Tummala for a monoclonal antibody infusion at Desert Valley Hospital on 17 December 2020 in Victorville, CA. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images) 

The pandemic might be over in the minds of some but according to the experts, covid is ramping up for a fall wave—one likely to be fueled by multiple variants, as the covid virus (SARS-CoV-2, covi) mutates and spreads exponentially.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington and other experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, foresee a wave beginning to swell in late October 2022, and peaking in late December 2022 or January 2023.

It could kill another 20,500 Americans, according to the IHME.

While the coming wave may be caused by multiple variants, they may start to look increasingly similar as they mutate to become more efficient—and take the same path to achieve it.

The wave may be carried by one variant, Dr. Raj Rajnarayanan, assistant dean of research and associate professor at the New York Institute of Technology campus in Jonesboro, Ark., told Fortune this week. 

“But if you look closer, they may all have the same set of mutations.”

They may all end up with the same disastrous effect: rendering current covid countermeasures like drugs and vaccines powerless.

News (3)

BA.2.75 is no longer a worry

Omicron spawn BA.2.75, dubbed “Centaurus,” seemed like the covi variant to watch this summer—one with the potential to wreak havoc later in the year.

However, Centaurus is no longer a worry, according to Rajnarayanan. Instead, one of its offspring, BA.2.75.2, has outcompeted it, eliminating it as a threat—but replacing it with a more formidable one.

News (4)

New variant of concern BA.2.75.2 is picking up mutations, “the most neutralization-resistant variant evaluated to date"

Fauci this week called the BA.2.75.2 variant “suspicious,” in that it has the potential to develop into a variant of concern for the fall. 

According to Rajnarayanan’s book, BA.2.75.2 is the most formidable of up-and-coming strain because of its spike protein—a feature that allows it to enter cells—binds more tightly to human cells than that of any other variant. By doing so, it makes it more difficult for antibodies to successfully attack the strain.

The variant is picking up mutations that make it more similar to globally dominant BA.5 and the deadly Delta variant of late 2021, and it is only “a couple of mutations away from picking up increased transmission speed,” Rajnarayanan said.

To make matters worse, the new variant shows “extensive escape” ability, according to a new preprint paper released this week by researchers at the Imperial College in London and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. 

The paper, which is not yet peer reviewed but has been widely cited by experts, called the variant “the most neutralization-resistant variant evaluated to date,” and said it may effectively evade antibody immunity, built by vaccination and prior infection.

News (5)

BF.7 a spin-off of Omicron BA.5, is potentially more transmissible

Another major contender: Omicron spawn BF.7. It is a spin-off of globally dominant strain BA.5, three generations removed.

The new subvariant has a change in the spike protein seen in other Omicron strains making headway. It also has a change in the nucleotide sequence—sometimes referred to as the blueprint of an organism—that could cause it to behave differently than other subvariants, Dr. Stuart Ray, vice chair of medicine for data integrity and analytics at Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine, told Fortune this week.

Scientists are taking note of BF.7 because it is making headway in an increasingly crowded field of Omicron subvariants. 

“The same growth advantage in multiple countries makes it reasonable to think that BF.7 is gaining a foothold,” and that it is potentially more transmissible than parent BA.5, Ray said.

News (6)

BQ.1.1, among other new variants, is competing with BA.2.75.2 to dominate the pandemic

There are more contenders, including BQ.1.1. The variant is jockeying with BA.2.75.2 to lead the wave this fall, Rajnarayanan said.

Major players are beginning to pick up identical advantageous mutations as they try to gain supremacy over their rivals, according to Rajnarayanan. Some mutations offer advantages like increased transmissibility, while others make it more difficult for the human immune system—as well as treatments and vaccines—to fight them off.

It is common for variants to garner multiple mutations—and increasingly, variants of potential concern are acquiring many of the same ones.

“Eventually all variants may look the same at the spike level,” Rajnarayana said.

Variant hunters are also keeping their eye on recombinants—combinations of multiple variants that form “frankenviruses” of sorts. 

News (7)

Combination of two different Omicron sub-variants identified, XBB, "the most immune evasive yet"

One Rajnarayanan and others are watching is XBB, a combination of two different Omicron spawns. It is not currently a variant of concern in terms of spread but “it’s probably the most immune evasive yet”—even more so than the rising BA.2.75.2, which is more immune evasive than globally dominant BA.5, the most immune evasive until recently.

It is a concerning pattern that has the ability to reduce the effectiveness of anti-covid treatments, as acknowledged by World Health Organization officials last week—and perhaps even vaccines. In a worst-case scenario, increasingly immune-evasive variants could render them ineffective entirely.

BA.2.75.2 is being watched for its potential to escape the immunity provided by the last antibody drug that is effective on all variants, Bebtelovimab, according to Rajnarayanan and other experts. It is administered to those at high risk of serious outcomes from covid.

According to a preprint updated Friday by Richard Cao Yulong, an assistant Professor at Peking University’s Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center in China, and others, BQ.1.1 beat it to the punch. The variant escapes immunity from Bebtelovimab, as well as another antibody drug that only works against some variants.

“Such rapid and simultaneous emergence of variants with enormous advantages is unprecedented,” Cao and others wrote in the paper.

News (8)

Chinese study: Herd immunity and boosters may not protect against new covi strains

It is unknown how well new Omicron boosters will hold up against coming variants but Cao’s paper notes that herd immunity and boosters may not protect against new strains. It urges the rapid development of broader covi vaccines and new antibody drugs, and encourages researchers to test them against recombinants they construct in the lab, in an effort to gauge their effectiveness ahead of time.

News (9)

Testing and genetic sequencing of samples must continue

Rajnarayanan worries for the future of covid countermeasures and, like WHO officials, calls on countries to keep up testing and the genetic sequencing of samples. It is the only way to know what is coming, they contend. Ideally, such knowledge will allow researchers to scramble to create new countermeasures, or update old ones, as necessary.

“We used to say we have the tools,” he said. “The tools are getting picked off.”

Ref: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.09.16.508299v2

News (10)

24 mainland provinces "celebrate the festival on the spot" Henan students shout angrily to lift the ban

Reporter : Ruili / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/09/30/a103540136.html / Image : Video Screenshot

In the evening of 28 September 2022, local time, students from many universities in Zhengzhou, Henan protested together, demanding "unblocking". Group resistance seems to be spreading across China.

Henan:

Henan Zhengzhou University students: "Unblock, unblock, unblock, unblock!"

Student from a university in Zhengzhou, Henan: "Unblock, unblock, unblock, unblock!"

On the evening of September 28, college students from several universities in Zhengzhou, Henan gathered to protest the long-term closure of the school. The students collectively chanted "unblocking", and they questioned why the closure of the school only closed the students, but the teachers were allowed to come and go freely.

Student: "Why can the teacher come out?"

Student: "It's safe for the teacher to go in and out, but it's not safe for us to go in and out, right? Our students carry the virus as soon as they come in?"

Student: "Unblock, unblock, unblock, unblock!"

On the 27th, Zhengzhou University of Finance and Economics in Henan Province, in order to prevent students from fleeing during the lockdown period, even added high-voltage wires to the campus wall; at Taiyuan University of Technology in Shanxi, some students put up banners demanding that the closure be lifted.

Zhengzhou University even requires students to wear masks when entering the "bathroom". Some schools even require masks to be worn at night.

After student protests, some universities are said to have lifted their closures. However, there are still a large number of posts on Weibo calling for the unblocking of students.

Some students called for "unblocking" in their own buildings, prompting the school to consider the students' demands. The school has implemented school closure management since February 2022, and the students have lost their freedom for nearly half a year. It is really "unbearable".

A student from Zhengzhou Vocational College of Information Technology said, "The school has been closed to students for more than a year, and people come in and out every day at the south gate of the school!! It's just that students are not allowed to come out. I don't know the name."

Tianjin:

The recent epidemic in Tianjin has heated up. On 28 September, it was reported on the Internet that Tianjin may be closed on 1 October 2022. On the same day, Tianjin officials refuted the rumour that the closure of the city was a rumour. However, netizens did not pay the bill, saying that the previous "rumours" in Shanghai and Chengdu had come true.

People in Tianjin: "Today is September 29, 2022. This is near Xiaohaiti, located in Hexi District, Tianjin. You can only go in but not go out. Let's take a look. The control is still very strict."

Tianjin woman: "Oh, you are killing me! Oh my god!"

A woman wailed in the deserted night because of the lockdown of the epidemic. Citizens called the 12345 helpline but were told that there were more than 100 people in front.

Phone voice: "You're in the queue, number 165."

Tianjin citizen: "It's broken, it's broken, it's still unsealed, and it ended up being sealed for us."

In the dark night, carts of iron plates are being continuously transported into the residential area.

ust as inhumane sealing and control methods such as welding doors and wire-locked doors continued to explode, detonating public grievances, in the afternoon of 29 September, an official from the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Chinese Communist Party said in response to questions from the media that "outside locking doors" should not be used for centralized or home isolation.

The news was immediately widely reported by mainland state media. However, netizens were overwhelmingly negative in their comments, so that the authorities quickly pulled Weibo comments on the topic.

The netizen said, "People shouldn't be locked up in the first place. This is a special reminder. It is conceivable how the situation will be."

Kunming:

The epidemic in Kunming, Yunnan has affected colleges and universities, and at least 13 colleges and universities have been closed. The video shows that teachers and students in many schools lined up to do nucleic acid tests.

According to official statistics, since the outbreak of the epidemic on 25 September, 128,000 colleges and universities have been closed and managed, and more than 70,000 people have changed their health codes to "yellow codes".

Due to the ever-increasing scope of control, local tourism operators say that the upcoming 11th holiday will be in vain.

A hotel staff member in Kunming said, "(The control area) changes every day. For example, when we came to work the day before, we were fine. When we came to work that day, we were informed at night that we were not allowed to go out, even those who were inside would not be able to go out. No one from outside can get in."

Seeing that the "November" long holiday is approaching, the epidemic situation in various parts of mainland China is unabated. As of now, at least 24 provinces have asked people to "celebrate the festival locally". The move sparked renewed outrage from the public, who expressed disgust with the authorities' extreme epidemic prevention measures.

Netizens said, "It's not the epidemic that makes people panic, it's prevention and control!"

Trump's WWIII warning, CCP police arrest innocent people

 Research, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

News on U.S., Ukraine, Russia, disease control, Solomon Islands, CCP

News (1)

Worried that he "couldn't sleep", Trump exposed fear of a third world war in either Taiwan or Ukraine

Source : China Times / Editor : Chu Tian / https://www.aboluowang.com/2022/0928/1809121.html

Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who was asked in a recent interview what would keep him "sleepless", warned that a third world war could break out, possibly in Taiwan and China, or Ukraine.

When U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August, Trump criticized her for bringing chaos.

New York Post reported that the ABC's New York branch "WABC" broadcast Trump's 20-minute pre-recorded interview yesterday (27 September), when the host Cassi Mattis ( John Catsimatidis) asked Trumo, "What's keeping you awake at night", Trump said, "I think more than anything else, I think we might have a third world war, and it might be in Ukraine. All the horrible things that happened."

"It looks like it's going to happen in China and Taiwan, as you know, and as you see what's happening there."

Trump also alluded to Russian President Vladimir Putin's pledge in a speech last week that he "will do everything in our power to protect Russia and our people," Trump said, "Because of nuclear power, I think we may be in the worst place in many, many years. These are dangerous times."

"It's a very bad time for a big country with a nuclear deterrent comparable to ours to throw out words like nuclear weapons lightly, it's a very bad time for this country, and it's a very bad, very dangerous time for the world. "

Trump also agreed with Cassimatis in the interview that Putin would not have invaded Ukraine earlier this year had he remained president.

Trump described his relationship with Putin this way, "I got along very well with him, I talked to him, I understand him, he probably understands me, but I know him so well, he would never do that."

News (2)

American polling experts admit: The number of MAGA voters is greatly underestimated 

Source : Eiffel Tower Li2020 / Editor : Fang Xun / https://www.aboluowang.com/2022/0929/1809484.html

Recently, the latest poll from Trafalgar Group, one of the most accurate polling agencies in American politics, admits that in the 2022 midterm elections, Republican voters who believe in "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) are greatly underestimated.

The group's senior strategist and pollster Robert Cahaly concluded in a series of tweets: "GOP turnout in 2022 will likely be higher than any polls or models suggest. All polls will underestimate the impact of these inundated voters."

Cali pointed out that Biden's demonization of MAGA Republicans has effectively kept this part of the voting crowd out of the polls. He tweeted: “…The Biden administration basically classifies MAGA Republicans as a threat to poaching, focusing them on federal law enforcement. The move has created a new type of voter that’s notable in the polls. It's not shown, or estimated. I call this new group the flooded voters. They don't put stickers on their cars, they don't put up signs in their yards, they don't have opinions, they don't even answer polls."

"At this point, I think it's fair to say that Biden's pursuit of the MAGA Republicans has created an army of voters who barely take part in the polls and are hard to gauge," Cali said.

He has long warned that there will be little access to silent voters, who are too afraid to express their opinions for fear of retribution. Therefore, Trump's real approval ratings in key battleground states should be higher than expected.

A survey released by Trafalgar on Thursday (22 September) found that 67.9% of Americans said they felt safer under Trump; another 27.1% said they did feel safe; and 5% are not sure.

86.8% of Republicans and 64.1% of independents said they felt less safe in a Biden administration. Among Democrats, 47.8% said they felt as safe today as they did two years ago, and 44.9% said they felt less safe.

Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty wrote to Biden last week calling for a fight against the crime wave. "Rampant crime is not inevitable and tough law enforcement can stop it. But it requires a commitment to law enforcement," they said in the letter.

They point to a recent kidnapping-murder case in Memphis, Tennessee: Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-old kindergarten teacher, was kidnapped and killed by a convicted felon.

Because of the rise in homicides, lawmakers are asking Biden to deploy federal funding for law enforcement and fighting violent crime. They also urged Biden to resume "Operation Legends." From July to December 2020, the operation deployed federal law enforcement officers in 9 major U.S. cities to help local fight violent crime, arresting more than 6,000 people, including 467 murderers, seizing more than 2,600 guns, and seizing fentanyl  17 kg.

In addition, lawmakers urged Biden to close the border to prevent drug and human trafficking, as well as cross-border violent crime.

News (3)

A word from the Kremlin, 4 Russian-occupied areas are now fleeing, and residents are running away 

Editor : Fang Xun / https://www.aboluowang.com/2022/0929/1809349.html

The Russian-Ukrainian war has been going on for 7 months. The Ukrainian military is currently counterattacking to regain lost ground. In addition to mobilizing 300,000 people to join the war at home, Russia has also held referendums on "joining Russia" in four Ukrainian regions. The Kremlin said on the 28th that this special military operation will continue, at least to control (occupy) the entire Donetsk region.

According to a report by Reuters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on the 28th that Russia will support the special military operation launched by Ukraine will continue, at least until the occupation of the entire Udon Donnetsk region. The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) has been fighting the Ukrainian army since 2014, "so that (Russia) at least liberates all the territory of the entire Donetsk People's Republic".

Russia's "special military operation" of invading Ukraine in late February this year claimed that Ukraine must be demilitarized and de-Nazi in order to protect the pro-Russian, Russian-speaking inhabitants of the Ukrainian Donbas region from the Ukrainian genocide. Since the Russian invasion, in addition to Crimea, it has also occupied the entire territory of Luhansk, Zaporozhye, Kherson and Donetsk, of which 40% of Donetsk is still under the control of Ukraine.

Russia recently held a "referendum on accession to Russia" in the four occupied Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhye and Kherson. 99.23% of Donetsk, 98.42% of Luhansk, 93.11% of Zaporozhye and 87.05% of Kherson all passed the vote, but this referendum was not recognized by the United States, Ukraine, NATO and other countries.

Lyubomir Boyko, a 43-year-old resident of Golopristan village in the Russian-occupied district of Kherson state, said that since Russia announced the referendum, "many people have left everything behind, some have left. The place is completely deserted", "We all want to stay in Ukraine, that's why everyone wants to leave, even the whole village has left", "There (Russian-occupied area) is already in chaos, there is almost no law and order".

"In this referendum, except for a few people who changed their positions, almost no one voted in the referendum, and despite their door-to-door visits, no one wanted to vote," Poiko said. Another 37-year-old man, Adnriy, who fled Kherson with his family, said, "70% of the people fled because of the referendum, but the referendum passed", "It's quite ridiculous, among those who voted, I don't know anyone."

News (4) to (5) / Reporter : Jack Newman, Daily Mail / https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11261617/Putins-Dads-Army-ageing-reservists-line-war.html

News (4)

Aging reservists in Russia line up to go to war

Image : Reuters

Humiliating photos show how Putin has resorted to sending a 'Dad's Army' of ageing reservists to the Ukrainian front lines in the latest embarrassment to the Kremlin.

The desperate Russian tyrant ordered the mobilisation of 300,000 extra troops last week in a bid to reverse the fortunes of his botched invasion, in a move which spooked thousands who fled the country but other hardy civilians decided to join the war effort despite their age, health and limited training, to bolster troop numbers after Kyiv's stunning counter-offensive.

In Sevastopol in Crimea, silver-haired and wrinkled recruits stood in line in their uniforms at a ceremony before they took a much-needed cigarette break and then made their way to the front lines.

The images, taken on Tuesday less than a week after Putin's order, shows how rushed the mobilisation has been, compared to the six months' minimum training usually provided.

The men drafted into the war effort are among the working class rural communities who have been unable to join the masses escaping over the border into neighbouring Georgia, Kazakhstan and Finland.

The number who have fled now likely exceeds the number of troops in Putin's original invasion forces, military intelligence suggests. 

The British Ministry of Defence said in its daily update today, "In the seven days since President Putin announced the 'partial mobilisation' there has been a considerable exodus of Russians seeking to evade call-up. 

"Whilst exact numbers are unclear, it likely exceeds the size of the total invasion force Russia fielded in February 2022.

"The better off and well educated are over-represented amongst those attempting to leave Russia.

"When combined with those reservists who are being mobilised, the domestic economic impact of reduced availability of labour and the acceleration of 'brain drain' is likely to become increasingly significant.'

Those sent to war were already lamenting the outdated equipment and poor morale just weeks after the outbreak of war, an investigation by the New York Times claims.

Unauthorised phone calls made by soldiers to their families in March via shared cell phones among units near Bucha were intercepted by Ukraine and translated by the Times. 

Many troops revealed the Kremlin had lied about the purpose of the war, showing an early insight into the reality on the ground.

One man named Sergey told his girlfriend, 'Some guys took armour off of Ukrainians' corpses and took it for themselves. Their NATO armour is better than ours.'

Another named Roman told his friend, "Everything here is ancient. It's not modern like they show on Zvezda [state TV].'

A different Sergey told his mother, 'There were 400 paratroopers. And only 38 of them survived. Because our commanders sent soldiers to the slaughter."

The dire situation for the troops has led to Putin's mobilisation order, which came as Ukrainian forces dealt heavy battlefield setbacks to Moscow.

The mass exodus has created miles-long lines for days at some borders, and local Russian authorities on one area along the border with Georgia said they would start providing food, water, warming stations and other aid to those in line. 

Moscow also reportedly set up draft offices at borders to intercept some of those trying to leave.

The mobilisation prompted the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to warn Americans in Russia to leave immediately because "Russia may refuse to acknowledge dual nationals' U.S. citizenship, deny their access to U.S. consular assistance, prevent their departure from Russia, and conscript dual nationals for military service."

Previous embassy security alerts issued during the war also advised Americans to leave.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, cited an online video by a man who identified himself as a member of Russia's 1st Tank Regiment, visibly upset, saying he and his colleagues wouldn't receive training before shipping out to Russian-occupied parts of the Kherson region.

'Mobilised men with a day or two of training are unlikely to meaningfully reinforce Russian positions affected by Ukrainian counteroffensives in the south and east,' the institute said.

Meanwhile, the EU expressed outrage over the suspected sabotage Tuesday of two underwater natural gas pipelines from Russia to Germany, and warned of retaliation for any attack on Europe's energy networks.

'All available information indicates those leaks are the result of a deliberate act,' EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. Perpetrators have not been identified.

News (5)

Moscow called for U.N. Security Coucil meeting after sabotage of two underwater natural gas pipelines

Kremlin spokesman Peskov said allegations that Russia could be behind the incidents were 'predictable and stupid,' saying the damage has caused Russia huge economic losses. A U.N. Security Council meeting was called for Friday at Moscow's request.

The damage makes it unlikely the pipelines will be able to supply any gas to Europe this winter, according to analysts.

On the battlefield, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said Ukraine's counteroffensive is advancing slowly, meeting a stouter Russian defence.

Local Ukrainian officials reported Russian attacks in the partially occupied Donetsk region that killed five people, and artillery strikes in the southern Ukrainian city of Nikopol. 

That city saw 10 high-rises and private buildings hit, as well as a school and power lines, said Valentyn Reznichenko, the head of the local military administration.

Western leaders also fear Putin is planning a huge escalation of Russia's faltering invasion with a deadly nuclear strike or an attack on European interests.

British and American spies believe there is "credible intelligence' to suggest the Russian president is preparing an attack that will turn the war effort in his favour after coming to the realisation that the war was 'a colossal mistake'."

Putin is understood to be planning land-grab of four regions said to have voted overwhelmingly to join Russia after sham referendums in which residents were marched to the ballot box at gunpoint.

Hastily arranged votes had taken place over five days in the four areas - Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson - that make up about 15 per cent of Ukrainian territory but there is concern that Putin is planning a nuclear attack west of the regions that would create a radiation dead zone and put a halt to Ukraine's so far successful counter-offensives.

Another fear is that Russia is preparing a strike on western interests such as maritime communications cables.

News (6)

Singapore reports new 3431 covid cases, transmission rate soared to level of 1.29

Image of Singapore : Researcher's Picture

 

There were 3,431 new covid cases in Singapore, with no deaths for two consecutive days, and the weekly case transmission rate rose to a level of 1.29, the highest in at least a month.

According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Health, as of 12 pm of 29 September 2022, 295 new cases were detected by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests, and 3136 cases were detected by Antigen Rapid Test (ART).

There are 3,219 local cases and 212 inbound covid cases.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, Singapore has recorded an average of 2,586 new local cases per day in the past seven days. There are currently 1,904,192 confirmed cases in Singapore, and the cumulative number of deaths remains at 1,617.

A total of 247 people are currently hospitalized, one more than yesterday (28th); 15 people in the general ward need oxygen supply, one less than yesterday; there are three to nine more coronavirus patients in the intensive care unit. A total of 1,707 people have completed isolation or been discharged from hospital in the past day.

Of the 57,945 confirmed cases in the past 28 days, 99.8% were asymptomatic or only mildly symptomatic, 0.2% required oxygen, 0.03% were admitted to intensive care units, and 0.02% died.

In addition, based on the revision of the age group that can be vaccinated by the authorities, it also affects the proportion of the vaccinated population. According to the latest data, the proportion of the local population who have completed the vaccination is 92%, and 79% of the population has received booster doses, compared with 93% previously and 80%.

News (7)

U.S. and Pacific Islands hold first summit

Reporter : Tao Ming / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/09/29/a103539941.html

 As the CCP continues to expand in the Pacific region, the strategic position of Pacific island countries has become increasingly important in recent years. The U.S. government on Wednesday invited leaders of various Pacific island nations to Washington for a summit where they are expected to sign a joint statement. 

The US government held a summit with leaders of Pacific island countries on the 28th and 29th. This is also the first large-scale summit between the United States and a country in the Pacific region.

It is reported that the United States is expected to invest more than 860 million U.S. Dollars in aid to Pacific island countries.

Secretary of State Blinken said, "This vision recognizes that only by working together can we truly address the greatest challenges facing our citizens in this era, from responding to the climate crisis and public health emergency, to boosting the economy, to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific where every country, no matter how big or small, has the right to choose its own path."

Secretary of State Blinken said the participating countries will sign a joint statement on the partnership between the United States and the Pacific region, expressing a shared vision and working together in the future.

Blinken said, "So I'm very happy that today we have this, we've agreed on this, and it's going to provide a roadmap for our future work."

"We've been able to come to an agreement on a shared vision, and we're very pleased with that," State Department spokesman Price.

All Pacific island nations have sent leaders or representatives to the summit, including Solomon Islands Prime Minister Sogavare, who has recently swayed. The Solomon Islands signed a secret security agreement with CCP China in April, and in August refused to allow U.S. and British warships to dock.

On Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden will hold a summit with world leaders and issue a joint statement with 11 points expected to include human-centered development, geopolitical security, commerce and industrial trade relations.

However, Solomon Islands has issued a diplomatic note announcing that it will not sign the joint declaration.

News (8) to (9) / Reporter : Chen Beichen / Editor : Yun Tao / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/09/29/a103539991.html

News (8)

Russia: Willing to talk face-to-face with the US on nuclear weapons treaty

Image : File photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin. (GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia said on Thursday (29 September) that it is studying the possibility of face-to-face talks with the United States over the nuclear arms control treaty, the US-Russia New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a briefing that Russia is open to reviving START inspections and intends to support face-to-face negotiations by a joint committee of U.S. and Russian representatives.

Zakharova said, "We are considering the issue of recovery and also looking into the possibility of holding a face-to-face meeting of the bilateral advisory committee."

This is one of the few and major diplomatic agreements since U.S.-Russian relations hit rock bottom due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

The New START Treaty limits the number of nuclear weapons the United States and Russia can deploy, as well as the conditions for inspecting their nuclear arsenals.

Affected by the epidemic, Washington and Moscow have only conducted two nuclear inspections each since 2020, after which the inspections were interrupted.

News (9)

Ukraine holds "homeland" emergency security meeting

President Vladimir Putin will sign an official document on Friday (September 30) announcing the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, the Kremlin confirmed on Thursday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy immediately announced an emergency meeting with senior security, political and defense officials on Friday.

Zelenskyy's spokesman, Sergei. Serhiy Nykyforov said, "The president has called an emergency meeting of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council tomorrow. The agenda and other details will be announced later."

Members of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine include: the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister, as well as the head of the Security Service of Ukraine. Its mission is to work with the President to develop and coordinate national security policy.

Zelenskyy has repeatedly said the so-called referendum was illegal and warned Ukraine would respond strongly. "Ukraine will recover its territory in its entirety. Our response to Russia's recognition of these referendum results will be very harsh," he told Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi by phone on Thursday.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Putin would address the ceremony and meet the leaders of the four occupied territories supported by Russia.

Leaders of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as the self-styled Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, rushed to Moscow after the results of the vote were announced.

These four regions together account for about 18% of Ukraine's territory. Most recently, they all held a "referendum" on whether to join Russia with the support of Moscow. Western leaders have widely denounced the referendum as a "hoax".

News (10)

More than 1.43 million people were arrested before the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China

Reporter : Tang Zheng / Editor : Li Quan / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/09/29/a103539600.html / Image : The picture is a data photo. Chinese police conduct security checks in Tiananmen Square on March 10, 2022. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Before the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Beijing's security management has been upgraded, and it is like a big enemy. According to the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, more than 1.43 million criminal suspects have been arrested in the past three months. The Chinese people said that this action is obviously related to the stability maintenance of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. In order to achieve the so-called "target", the police in various places have indiscriminately arrested innocent people.

On 27 September 2022, the Ministry of Public Security of the Communist Party of China held a press conference. Qiu Baoli, director of the "Hundred Days Action" Office of the Ministry of Public Security of the Communist Party of China and director of the Public Security Administration, said that so far, more than 1.43 million criminal suspects have been arrested in the "Hundred Days Action".

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held on October 16, and the Ministry of Public Security of the Communist Party of China deployed control in advance, and started on June 25 this year, announcing the launch of the so-called "Hundred Days Action", and public security everywhere frantically arrested people.

According to a report by Overseas Radio Free Asia, Beijing resident Wang Jiangqing said that the police across the country arrested more than one million people at once, which is obviously related to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to maintain stability.

Wang Jiangqing said that now the authorities are all soldiers. Before the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, there will definitely be many actions by the authorities. The more they are like this, the more it shows domestic instability. The 20th National Congress is getting closer and closer, and they must be more nervous.

A resident of Liaoning said that the police arrested people everywhere in the "Hundred Days Operation". This method is similar to the "Strike Hard" operation. There is no legal basis for arresting people.

In fact, this so-called operation by the CCP has also targeted dissidents, petitioners, human rights defenders, Falungong practitioners, and Christians, and conducted severe monitoring and arrests.

Li Ning, a resident of Beijing's Mentougou, said that in the past month, the police have not only checked outsiders and banned Christian gatherings, but they have now banned people from playing mahjong.

She said that because the police at the police station have indicators for arresting people, there will be indiscriminate arrests of innocent people. "I heard from ordinary people in Beijing that now every police station has the task of (arresting people), and a policeman has to arrest several people and solve several cases. Now arresting people is all about making up the number, and arresting even the smallest things. This is the first time for Sun Cheng from Yancheng, Jiangsu. When he came to Beijing, he said: "They came in two police cars, took people away, and they detained you for three months without saying anything. "

Ms. Liu, a resident of Shenyang, also said that the police arrest people now just to make up the numbers. They arrest whoever they want, and arrest those who report problems at any meeting or movement.

The CCP is currently caught in the dilemma of internal and external aggression. Internationally, the CCP regime, which pursues communist ideology, has become increasingly isolated, and countries are countering the CCP. In China, faced with fierce high-level infighting, the "zero-covid" policy hit the economy and other crises.

Wu Shaoping, a human rights lawyer based in the United States, told The Epoch Times on September 28 that the CCP wants to maintain stability because its totalitarian rule has no legitimacy, and the legitimacy of the source of power at the highest level has also been widely questioned. In the process of changing the top leadership of the CCP at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CCP must prevent "foreign enemies", because "the people of the entire society are actually the enemies of the CCP, and the dissatisfaction and protest of the people may lead to the collapse of the CCP regime."

He said that public security is a weapon of the CCP, and the CCP uses it to maintain the stability of the entire society. But the current bad social environment in China is created by the CCP. The CCP is doing perverse actions, judicial injustice, corruption, and especially the use of the epidemic to clear the society to maintain social stability. In order to ensure its own rule, the CCP uses this high-intensity method of maintaining stability to control the entire society, making the entire society in a state of tension and anxiety.

In June 2022, current affairs commentator Li Lin told The Epoch Times that before the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Wang Xiaohong arranged for the Ministry of Public Security's "Hundred Days of Action", the focus of which was to "strengthen political security measures". The so-called "political security" includes internal and "internationally". In terms of the CCP’s logic, the CCP must suppress and crack down on dissidents within the CCP, and also prevent subversion from overseas. The so-called crackdown on "underworld forces" and its protective umbrella involves infighting within the CCP.

As the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China approaches, various controls in Beijing have been upgraded. In addition to the ban on flying drones, the security inspections of express delivery to Beijing have been upgraded, and "secondary security inspections" have been carried out for express mail entering Beijing. In addition, it is very difficult for people to enter and leave Beijing, and they are all blocked by the "Beijing Health Treasure Pop-up 3", which hinders their travel.

News (11)

Conspiracy theories point figer of blame at Biden for the blow-up of Nord Stream gas pipelines amid riddle of blasts at the Baltic

Reporter : Mark Nicol, Daily Mail / https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11264547/Who-DID-blow-Nord-Stream-gas-pipelines-Russia-America.html / Image : Daily Mail

Deep beneath the Baltic Sea, a remotely controlled submarine releases a mine which nestles beside a gas pipeline.

Other mines are laid at critical junctures along hundreds of miles of piping connecting Russia and Germany. They contain the equivalent of hundreds of pounds of TNT.

When they are detonated – either by a timing device or remotely from a secret control room – the aftershocks are felt 800 miles away and seismologists liken the blasts to earthquakes.

Within seconds Nord Stream 1 and 2 begin to leak. Within days, millions of cubic metres of natural gas have been released into Danish and Swedish waters.

Mission accomplished for whoever instigated this unprecedented act of industrial terrorism.

But was it also the staggering act of self-sabotage by Vladimir Putin that the world assumes it to have been?

After all, the president who threatened to ‘end’ Nord Stream earlier this year resides not in the Kremlin but the White House. US President Joe Biden could not have been clearer when, in early February, he promised to bring Nord Stream ‘to an end’ should Russian troops and tanks enter Ukraine.

The invasion happened. So did Mr Biden take revenge as he promised to?

At the time he dismissed suggestions such an operation would be too complicated to carry out or too damaging diplomatically given Nord Stream 2 was controlled by Germany. To the doubters, he added: ‘We will, I promise you. We will be able to do it.’ 

These remarks have proved a propaganda gift to the Kremlin in the aftermath of the leaks.

Russia’s foreign ministry mouthpiece Maria Zakharova mocked the blunder-prone US President, challenging him to account for his words and actions.

It may appear fanciful to look anywhere other than Moscow to find the perpetrators. However, these incidents occurred in areas of the Baltic Sea belonging to the US’s allies Denmark and Sweden.

While Russian vessels are entitled to enter these ‘exclusive economic zones’, the US and its friends would be expected to closely monitor their activity. Perhaps the US stood by, permitting the plot to be actioned? 

The thinking in Washington DC might have been that such an incident would convince those European states with the greatest reliance on Russia for energy supplies to redouble their efforts to achieve energy-independence.

It is no coincidence that these states, such as Germany, have been the most reluctant to actively challenge Russia’s military supremacy in Ukraine and the keenest for President Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate with President Putin.

Certainly there is consternation in continental Europe following the attack on the pipelines. The natural gas being released is 90 per cent methane, a key driver of global warming. So Putin, or whoever, has weaponised pollution.

Denmark has said the discharge could account for a third of its greenhouse gas emissions. Norway put its oil and gas facilities on alert for attacks. Lithuania boosted security at its liquefied natural gas import terminal.

But whose long-term strategic goals are achieved by the attacks, Russia’s or the US’s? The plot thickened on Tuesday when a former Polish minister thanked the US for the Nord Stream explosions.

On Twitter Radoslaw Sikorski posted a picture of a massive methane gas spill on the surface of the Baltic Sea with the comment: ‘Thank You USA’. The hawkish MEP later tweeted that if Russia wants to continue supplying gas to Europe it must ‘talk to the countries controlling the gas pipelines’. 

Whatever did he mean? Both Russia and the U.S. have the technology and the wherewithal to pull off such an attack while surveillance of the North Sea and Baltic Sea is said to be patchy.

Many Russian surface naval vessels carry miniature submarines such as the Harpsichord unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), the Klavesin and the Losharik. These intelligent "marine robots" can be used for deep-sea surveillance and delivering explosive payloads.

Historically, submarine warfare has been a Russian strong suit, a tradition which continues today. These UUVs are equipped with precision navigation and communication equipment and their dive capability puts the bottom of the Baltic Sea within their reach.

The attacks also highlighted the vulnerability of the underwater cable networks relied on by Britain and other countries.

Retired Rear Admiral Chris Parry told the Daily Mail, the UK is "wide open" to a similar attack. 

He sounded a shocking warning last night, saying, "The protection and defence of these vital energy and communication arteries have been neglected, even as military and civilian technologies and platforms, both manned and unmanned, capable of disrupting and damaging them have multiplied significantly. It is not just the UK that is at risk in this regard, but the whole international community."

Fears of internet and mobile phone blackouts this winter have intensified recently – as Europe does not have enough back-up systems to rely upon in the event of power cuts.

By targeting key infrastructure a hostile state – particularly one that like Russia has suffered setbacks on the battlefield – can bring another state to a standstill. Cutting energy supplies is just one way of achieving this.

Russia, or whoever, has put Britain and Europe on high alert for further attacks, perhaps to sub-sea data cables which carry financial information across the Atlantic – which would play havoc with stock markets.

News (12)

Russian missiles hit "humanitarian convoy" leaving at least 23 Ukrainians dead in Zaphorizhzhia

Reporter : Chris Pleasance, Daily Mail / https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11265723/Russian-missiles-hit-humanitarian-convoy-Zaporizhzhia-killing-civilians.html

A Russian airstrike has destroyed a humanitarian convoy in southern Ukraine leaving dozens of civilians dead and wounded, Ukrainian officials said today.

Images show how a single rocket landed close to a queue of cars waiting at a checkpoint as they drove out of the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia into nearby Russian-occupied territory in the early hours of Friday, shredding the vehicles with shrapnel.

Oleksandr Starukh, the Zaporizhzhia regional governor, said at least 23 people were killed and another 28 were wounded in the strike, all of whom were civilians. They were on their way to distribute aid to those living under Russian occupation and to try and get their relatives out, he added.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a senior adviser to President Zelensky, said Russia had fired a total of 16 S-300 anti-aircraft missiles at Ukrainian territory, four of which landed - destroying the queue of cars along with a nearby car market.

The attack took place just hours before a speech by Vladimir Putin in which he will announce Zaporizhzhia - along with Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson regions - are being annexed to Russia under the guise of protecting them. 

Photos from Zaporizhzhia showed a road littered with blown-out cars and at least two bodies lying on the ground, as survivors picked their way through the rubble.

One witness reported seeing about 12 bodies, four of them in cars, and said a missile had left a crater in the ground near two lines of vehicles at a car market. 

The impact had thrown chunks of dirt ino the air and sprayed the vehicles with shrapnel. The windows of the vehicles - mostly cars and three vans, were blown out.

The vehicles were packed with belongings, blankets and suitcases. 

In one of them, the body of a man was leaned from the driver's seat into the passenger seat, his left hand still clutching the steering wheel.

Oleksandr Starukh, governor of Zaporizhzhia, wrote on Telegram: " The enemy launched a rocket attack on a civilian humanitarian convoy on the way out of the regional center.

"People stood in line to leave for the temporarily occupied territory, to pick up their relatives, to take away aid.

"Rescuers, medics, and all relevant services are currently working at the site."

Plastic sheets were draped over the bodies of a woman and young man in a green car in the next car in front. A dead cat lay next to the young man in the rear seat.

Two bodies lay in a white mini-van in front of that car, its windows blown and the sides pitted with shrapnel.

A woman who gave her name as Nataliya said she and her husband had been visiting their children in Zaporizhzhia.

'We were returning to my mother who is 90 years old. We have been spared. Itâs a miracle,' she said, standing with her husband beside their car.

Russia denied being responsible for the strike, instead blaming it on Ukraine.

It came ahead of a major speech that Putin will give in the Kremlin today, officially announcing his intention to annex occupied regions of Ukraine to Russia.

Russian-backed proxy-governments in four regions of Ukraine that Russian troops at least partially occupy - Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia - have spent recent days staging referendums on the issue.

Conducted at gunpoint, they claim the ballots returned overwhelming majorities for joining the 'motherland'.

Ukraine and its allies have denounced the votes as a sham and say they will never recognise the results, but the move never-the-less marks a turning point in the war.

From today, Putin will be able to spin the lie - to his own people at least - that Ukrainian efforts to liberate these regions are in fact attacks on Russia.

Provided the public buy into the lie, that would allow him to escalate the war in response - potentially up to and including the use of nukes.

Putin himself threatened to use nuclear arms in a speech last week, and his allies - including Dmitry Medvedev, head of the security council - have repeated the threat several times since then. 

The Kremlin dictator last night signed decrees recognising Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the country's south and east as states independent of Volodymyr Zelensky's Government - a precursor to Putin's deranged plot to illegally absorb 15% of Ukrainian territory into the Russian Federation.

Under an amendment to the Russian constitution made in 2020, Putin and his predecessors are forbidden from ceding any territory once acquired - meaning once the annexation is completed today, it will be irreversible unless Ukraine can successfully recapture the stolen land. Even a partial withdrawal as part of a future peace deal with Kyiv will become impossible.

At an official ceremony in St George's Hall in the Grand Kremlin Palace today, where marble plaques engraved in gold commemorate Russian military heroes, Putin will preside over a treaty-signing proclaiming the annexation of four regions of Ukraine - the breakaway People's Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. 

The Russian annexation will then be followed by planned celebratory concerts and rallies in the occupied territories and Moscow's Red Square, where Putin is expected to outline his view on why Ukraine has no right to an independent existence.

The stage-managed exercise follows a bogus five-day voting process across Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk that was entirely rigged in favour of becoming part of Putin's Russia. Moscow's proxies in the occupied regions claimed majorities of up to 99% in favour of joining. However, Ukraine and Western governments described those votes as bogus, illegitimate and conducted at gunpoint.

MPs in the Duma, Russia's puppet parliament, are expected to rubber stamp the move next week. It is a carbon copy of Moscow's approach in 2014 when it held a fake referendum in Crimea as a pretext for moving in and seizing the Ukrainian peninsula.

The annexation comes at a perilous moment for Putin. After months of grinding, attritional warfare, Ukraine seized the initiative this month by routing Russian forces in the northeastern Kharkiv region. 

And Putin last week declared an unpopular partial mobilisation, prompting thousands of fighting-age men to flee the country. Even staunch Kremlin allies have criticised the chaotic nature of the call-up, while Putin himself said yesterday 'all mistakes must be corrected'.

Kyiv said that the annexation votes will not stop their armed forces from trying to retake its illegally stolen land, vowing a 'harsh' response. For its part, Russia pledges to defend all its territory - including newly annexed regions - by all available means, including nuclear weapons. 

Ukraine's Western supporters have described the stage-managed referendums on whether to live under Russian rule as a bald-faced 'land grab' based on lies. 

They say some people were forced to vote at gunpoint in an election without independent observers on territory from which thousands of residents have fled or been forcibly deported.