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Today is one of those days when I risk being overwhelmed - so here are the main headlines from the last 24-hour-period.
First
domestic Ebola case diagnosed in US
The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Tuesday that
the first domestic case of Ebola was diagnosed in the United States
of America.
On
Monday, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas admitted a patient
into strict isolation to be evaluated for potential Ebola Virus
Disease (EVD), based on the patient’s symptoms and recent travel
history, according to the hospital’s statement.
By
Tuesday afternoon, the CDC received preliminary blood test results
back, confirming that the patient was struck with the deadly disease
marked by hemorrhagic fever.
The
victim had recently traveled to Liberia, leaving the West African
country on September 19, and arriving in the US on the following day.
The patient had no Ebola symptoms when leaving Liberia or entering
the United States, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said during a press
conference.
Around
September 24th, the patient began developing symptoms, which are
often non-specific, Frieden noted. On Sunday, the victim initially
sought care for those symptoms, and on Sunday he was admitted to the
Texas hospital and put in an isolation ward. The patient is currently
“critically ill,” according to the CDC director.
Meanwhile.....U.S.
quietly preparing for Ebola outbreak: CDC issues Ebola guidelines for
U.S. funeral homes – how to dispose of bodies
UK
jets launch first attacks against ISIS in Iraq
Tornado
bombers from Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) have carried out their
first attacks against the Islamic State in Iraq, according to the
Ministry of Defense (MoD).
"This
action is part of the international coalition’s operations to
support the democratic Iraqi government," the MoD said in a
statement.
“In
the course of an armed reconnaissance mission from RAF Akrotiri, two
Tornados were tasked to assist Kurdish troops in north-west Iraq who
were under attack from Isil (Isis) terrorists,” the statement
continued.
Two
Tornado GR4 aircraft were used, which are now based at RAF Akrotiri
in Cyprus. The Tornado is an all-weather day and night fighter
bomber, which has been in use by the RAF since the 1980s and is now
becoming a little long in the tooth.
More
on this elsewhere. The Chinese are watching
events from the sky and from rooftops. I would expect trouble in the
next 24 hours
Protest
leaders and Hong Kong government refuse to budge
Tens
of thousands gather for third night of demonstrations on eve of
national day and neither side is willing to compromise
Pro-democracy
protest leaders in Hong Kong and the region’s government refused to
budge as a critical day approached for the mass demonstrations.
Tens
of thousands packed the city’s downtown areas for a third night on
Tuesday, chanting “We love Hong Kong” and giving new meaning to
the nickname “umbrella revolution” as they stood through a
thunderstorm. Previously they used them to ward off teargas and
shelter from the sun.
Organisers
warned they would step up their actions if the region’s chief
executive did not meet them by midnight on Tuesday.
Wednesday
is China’s National Day – which celebrates the foundation of the
people’s republic by the Communist party – and a public holiday,
meaning more people will be free to protest. A spokesperson for the
student group Scholarism said members would try to attend the
flag-raising ceremony at Golden Bauhinia square in the morning, but
would not chant slogans or seek conflict if they were allowed in.
Hong
Kong’s chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, earlier said the central
government would not change its mind over electoral rules and urged
demonstrators to withdraw. “Occupy Central founders had said
repeatedly that if the movement is getting out of control, they would
call for it to stop. I’m now asking them to fulfil the promise they
made to society, and stop this campaign immediately.”
But
he also reiterated that China’s People’s Liberation army was not
needed to maintain security, telling reporters: “When a problem
arises in Hong Kong, our police force should be able to solve it. We
don’t need to ask to deploy the PLA.”
Did
The Winter War Just Begin? Russian Gas Supplies To Europe Plunge 15%,
Ukraine Transit Slashed 54%
Just
a week ago, the Russian energy minister made the first public
'threat' of gas supply "throttling" disruptions to Europe
but judging by the data that has just been released, it appears the
'throttling' has begun.
Bloomberg reports that Russian gas supplies
to Europe fell 15% year-over-year in Q3 - the most in over two years
- as natural gas transit through Ukraine plunged 54% year-over-year.
In 2013, Gazprom sent 60% of its supply via Ukraine pipelines, in
August that dropped to 39%, and in September only 34%.
Of course,
Europe remains confident its storage efforts will buffer any "Winter
War" disruptions, as we noted here, but as Citi warned
previously, "if
colder weather arrives, storage levels will be drained," and
then there is the Spring (and German industry needs).
The
western media is playing this as “it could be either side”, and the 'nasty' Russian media is reporting (as it is) the Ukrainians as
responsible.
European
Observers Confirm Shocking Mass Graves, Atrocities in East Ukraine
A
ceasefire between the Kiev government and the pro-Russian rebels in
Eastern Ukraine has been in place for nearly a month now.
Despite
ongoing, occasional clashes between the two factions, the relative
de-escalation of tensions has eased the access of OSCE observers in
the war-torn Eastern regions.
Their
subsequent findings are shocking beyond a doubt: mass graves in areas
recently abandoned by the Ukrainian army.
Despite
Obama’s pinprick airstrikes, ISIS Overruns Another Iraqi Army Base,
Executes 300 Soldiers…
Militants
from ISIS have overrun an Iraqi military base near Baghdad and
executed 300 soldiers, according to a breaking news report from CNN.
While
details of the exact location outside Baghdad are unavailable, the
news comes after ISIS has been weakened by U.S. airstrikes in the
north of the country. It now appears that the group has made gains in
the central belt of the country and has an eye fixed on the nation’s
capital, which it attacked a few days ago as well.
Over
the past few weeks, ISIS fighters in the north of Iraq and more
recently in the west of Syria have been bombarded by U.S.-led
strikes. Strikes in Syria from the U.S. Air Force, Navy and allies,
plus Tomahawk missiles, disabled much of the militants’
infrastructure and also hit their income-generating oil wells.
Japan:
Toxic gases and ash hinder body recovery
Japan: Toxic gases and ash hinder body recovery
Toxic
gases and ash from still-erupting Mount Ontake forced Japanese rescue
workers to call off the search for more victims as dozens of
relatives awaited news of their family members.
Rescuers
found five more bodies near the summit of the volcano, bringing the
death toll to 36. They have managed to airlift only 12 bodies off the
mountain since the start of the eruption on Saturday because of
dangerous conditions.
How
the victims died remains unclear, though experts say it was probably
from suffocating ash, falling rocks, toxic gases or some combination
of them. Some of the bodies had severe contusions.
Meanwhile, the bigger picture (not in the headlines)..... species go extinct, the Arctic melts and releases methane
The
Arctic keeps melting....
Gives
a better idea of the temperature in the Arctic Ocean. (In Celsius)
4ºC = 39.200ºF
Wildlife
populations decline by over 50% since 1970 – WWF
The
world’s wildlife populations, including mammals, birds, reptiles,
amphibians and fish, have dropped by more than half in the last 40
years, the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) said in its latest report.
“Put
another way, in less than two human generations, population sizes of
vertebrate species have dropped by half,” Director General of WWF
International Marco Lambertini said in a statement.
The
WWF released its Living Planet Index (LPI) report on Tuesday,
published every two years.
After
measuring more than 10,000 representative populations of mammals,
birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish between 1970 and 2010, WWF
concluded that the populations of those species have dropped by 52
percent.
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