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NBA champ Boston Celtics owner eyeing industry record sale price

WYC GROUSBECK announced that he will put the Boston Celtics up for sale shortly after the team won its record 18th National Basketball Association (NBA) title. Now, there’s another record the Celtics could set.

Mr. Grousbeck said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday that he wants to sell the Celtics for a record price.

The most lucrative sale of an NBA team came when Mat Ishbia bought the Phoenix Suns for $4 billion. But if Grousbeck wants to aim even higher, the record for all North American sports teams is $6.05 billion, which is what Josh Harris and his group of investors paid to purchase the Washington Commanders last year.

Forbes’ most recent list of NBA teams’ valuations pegged the Celtics as the fourth-most valuable franchise in the league at $4.7 billion, behind only the Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers.

Mr. Grousbeck confirmed he plans to sell the team in two stages, first by offloading the 51 percent majority share controlled by his family. The second stage would feature the sale of the other 49 percent held by minority partners, though one minority owner, Steve Pagliuca, has announced that he is interested in bidding for a majority stake. — Reuters

NK balloons, GPS interference raise safety risks for airlines

PIXABAY

SEOUL — North Korea’s (NK) trash balloon campaign, missile launches and the emergence of Global Positioning System (GPS) “spoofing” have increased risks in South Korean airspace, aviation experts say, complicating airline operations as tensions rise between the rival nations.

In late May, North Korea began floating thousands of balloons with bags of trash, including human excrement, suspended under them into South Korea, in what analysts say is a form of psychological warfare.

Hundreds of balloons landed in the South during seven waves between May 29 and June 27, including one on a runway at Incheon airport, forcing a three-hour suspension of takeoffs and landings at its biggest international gateway.

When the balloons first appeared, aviation navigation interference from North Korea also spiked, including what appears to be the first bout of so-called “spoofing” affecting commercial aircraft in the South.

“Airspace safety is gradually deteriorating,” OPSGROUP, a membership-based organization that shares flight risk information, said in a June bulletin. “There are no official airspace warnings for South Korea, but the risk situation seems to be getting worse.” South Korea’s transport ministry said its military, air traffic control authorities and airlines maintain a 24-hour surveillance and communication system. “The South Korean military detects these balloons using surveillance assets… day and night,” a military spokesperson said, without giving further details.

North Korea, which also launched trash balloons in 2016, says they were retaliation for propaganda campaigns by North Korean defectors and activists in the South who send items via balloon.

‘QUITE COMPLICATED’
The balloon flights have several times shut down operations at Incheon, the world’s fifth-busiest international airport and an important cargo hub, about 40 km (25 miles) from North Korea.

The balloons have made flying in the area “quite complicated,” said Yun Chan Hwang, general manager of network operations for Korean Air Lines, which has adapted procedures to deal with the new hazard.

If northerly winds are expected, the airline adds fuel to flight plans so aircraft can stay aloft longer or divert to alternative airports, Yun said. Disruption caused by the balloon campaign is being exacerbated by increased signs of interference to the Global Positioning System (GPS), a network of satellites and receivers used for navigation.

Militaries and other actors can broadcast signals that trick a GPS system into thinking it is somewhere it is not. “This could lead pilots to drift off course, with the risk of straying into North Korean airspace,” said Kari Bingen, the aerospace security project director at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

Between May 29 and June 2 about 500 planes and hundreds of ships experienced GPS problems, South Korea’s government said. It complained to United Nations aviation body ICAO, which warned North Korea to stop.

CONSTANT RISK
GPS interruptions in the South from North Korea have occurred for more than a decade, but spoofing appears new, said SkAI, a Swiss company that runs a live disruption map.

SkAI detected spoofing in South Korean airspace between May 29 and June 2 that affected dozens of planes, co-founder Benoit Figuet said.

“Some of the impacted airplanes were flying quite low in altitude. We even have seen airplanes being spoofed while being on the ground,” Mr. Figuet said.

Notifications to pilots issued by South Korea in May and June warned planes flying around Incheon and Seoul to “exercise extreme caution when using GPS.”

No major aviation accident has been linked to GPS spoofing globally, but a business jet flying from Europe to Dubai nearly entered Iranian airspace without clearance in September 2023, OPSGROUP said.

North Korea said last year it would shoot down anything it deemed a reconnaissance flight entering its airspace.

Most airlines avoid North Korean airspace. The US Federal Aviation Administration bans overflights of North Korea for reasons including unannounced ballistic missile tests, air defence capabilities and potential electronic warfare.

“South Korea’s airspace is at constant risk of instability caused by some kind of political crisis,” OPSGROUP said. “Things have potential to change quickly, and without warning.” — Reuters

Ukraine will stop Putin, Biden tells NATO

US President Joe Biden poses with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a NATO event in Washington, D.C. — COURTESY OF NATO

WASHINGTON — US President Joseph R. Biden pledged to forcefully defend Ukraine against Russia’s invasion at the NATO summit in Washington on Tuesday, using the global stage to try to show allies at home and abroad that he can still lead.

Mr. Biden, 81, has endured 12 days of withering questions about his fitness for office as some of his fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill and campaign donors fear that he will lose the Nov. 5 election after a halting debate performance on June 27.

“(Vladimir) Putin wants nothing less, nothing less, than Ukraine’s total subjugation … and to wipe Ukraine off the map,” Mr. Biden said in his welcome to NATO member states to the summit, referring to the Russian president. “Ukraine can and will stop Putin.”

The White House is hoping he can turn the page on a difficult period in his presidency with his highest profile policy speech since the debate, although some diplomats at the summit said the damage was hard to erase.

On Tuesday, Mr. Biden spoke off of a teleprompter with a strong and confident voice and largely avoided the verbal flubs and signs of confusion that marked his debate performance.

Mr. Biden was framed by the gilded walls of the federal hall where the treaty creating NATO was signed, his speech bookended by stirring musical performances by the US Marine Corp. band.

“Today NATO is stronger than it’s ever been in its history,” he said.

Mr. Biden has rebuffed calls to step aside in his race against Republican Donald Trump, 78, vowing to beat him in November. So far, he has maintained the public support of most of his party’s elite.

The US president has made restoring traditional alliances abroad the centerpiece of his foreign policy after Trump challenged allies as part of an “America First” approach. The election winner in November could have a substantial impact on the future of NATO, Europe and the rest of the world.

“We don’t see how he can come back after the debate,” said one European diplomat, who dismissed Tuesday’s speech as evidence of Mr. Biden’s endurance because it was scripted. “I can’t imagine him being at helm of the US and NATO for four more years.”

Mr. Trump has suggested that, given a second term, he would not defend NATO members if they came under military attack and did not meet the alliance’s defense spending target of 2% of their annual gross domestic product (GDP). He has also questioned the amount of aid given to Ukraine in its battle against Russia’s invasion.

Mr. Biden closed his remarks by surprising NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, clasping the highest US civilian award around the Norwegian politician’s neck and crediting him with reviving the 32-member alliance.

UKRAINE FIGHTS FOR MORE
The centerpiece of the NATO summit is set to be new commitments of military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the summit would “further strengthen” the war-torn country’s path to NATO membership.

Biden and the leaders of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Romania issued a joint statement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announcing the delivery of five additional Patriot and other strategic air defense systems to protect Ukrainian cities, civilians and soldiers.

They said additional strategic air defense systems would be announced this year.

Mr. Zelensky, who arrived in Washington on Tuesday and is due to meet with Mr. Biden on Thursday, has said Ukraine needs a minimum of seven Patriot systems, a goal met by the fresh deliveries announced on Tuesday.

“We are fighting for additional security guarantees for Ukraine — and these are weapons and finances, political support,” he said on social media.

Ukraine ultimately wants to join NATO to ward against further future attacks by Russia but candidates have to be approved by all of the alliance’s members, some of which are wary of provoking a direct conflict with Russia.

Some members want the alliance to make clear Ukraine is moving toward NATO “irreversibly” and are keen for language in a summit statement beyond the alliance’s pledge last year that “Ukraine’s future is in NATO.”

BIDEN’S STAYING POWER?
NATO, celebrating its 75th anniversary, has found new purpose in opposing Mr. Putin’s Ukraine invasion and the grinding war will dominate private conversations between the leaders of the countries.

Those leaders, already anxious about the prospect of Mr. Trump’s return, came to Washington with fresh concern about Mr. Biden’s staying power, according to diplomats from their countries.

Mr. Biden will hold a rare solo press conference on Thursday, also aimed at quieting concerns.

As Mr. Biden tried to rally allies and domestic support, several high-ranking European officials met with a top foreign policy adviser to Mr. Trump during the summit.

NATO leaders face political uncertainty in Europe, with paralysis looming in France after gains for left and far right parties and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition weakened after a poor showing in European Parliament elections.

A US intelligence official said on Tuesday said that Russia prefers that Mr. Trump win the upcoming election.

New British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said as he headed to his first NATO summit that he would fulfill a campaign commitment to increase United Kingdom  defense spending to 2.5% of GDP but underlined he would only do so when the country could afford it and after a review of defense strategy.

A senior NATO official said on Tuesday Russia lacks the munitions and troops to start a major offensive in Ukraine and needs to secure significant ammunition supplies from other countries beyond what it already has.

But he estimated Russia would be able to sustain its war economy for three to four more years and also said “it will be some time” before Ukraine has amassed the munitions and personnel it needs to mount its own large-scale offensive operations. — Reuters

Thai finance minister says economy not good, with growth worsening

REUTERS

BANGKOK — Thailand’s economy has not been good for a long time, with growth deteriorating as it faces structural problems, the finance minister said on Wednesday.

The government was working to lift economic growth to 3% this year from current projections of about 2.5%, Pichai Chunhavajira told a business seminar, adding growth was low compared with rates of close to 6% in the past.

Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy expanded 1.9% last year, lagging regional peers, as it faced weak exports and high household debt and borrowing costs. Average economic growth was 1.73% over the past decade.

Mr. Pichai said tourism would help drive the economy, as at least 35 million foreign tourist arrivals were expected this year. In 2019, before the pandemic, there was a record of nearly 40 million visitors.

He also said current household debt at more than 90% of gross domestic product needed to be urgently tackled amid rising bad loans.

Mr. Pichai said he was hoping the central bank would relax loan-to-value regulations for mortgages to support the property sector. — Reuters

A big fat Indian wedding for the Ambani family to snarl Mumbai traffic

Traffic moves past high-rise buildings in Mumbai, India, March 7, 2024. — REUTERS

MUMBAI — When the son of Asia’s richest person Mukesh Ambani gets married in Mumbai this week, traffic in a key part of the city will literally stop for the four-day extravaganza to be attended by celebrities, business elite and politicians.

The wedding of the billionaire’s youngest son Anant Ambani, 29, and his long-time girlfriend Radhika Merchant, 29, is the culmination of lavish celebrations throughout the year and according to police, has been deemed a “public event” due to the presence of international and Indian VIPs.

Raising the ire of locals, roads near the venue — the upmarket Jio World Convention Centre owned by Ambani’s Reliance conglomerate in Mumbai’s central business district — will be open only for “event vehicles” between 1 p.m. and midnight July 12-15.

And that’s despite Mumbai being notorious for its congested traffic, particularly at this time of year during the monsoon season.

Traffic already has slowed around the immediate area around the venue which is being adorned with decorative lights and red flowers. Marigolds and bright yellow lights have also been used to decorate the trees outside Mr. Ambani’s 27-storey mansion, Antilia, in Mumbai.

While organizers have been tight-lipped about who will attend, it’s expected to be a star-studded event.

Last week, Justin Bieber performed for hundreds of guests at a private pre-wedding concert. The Canadian pop star also had photos taken with the bride and groom who wore haute couture versions of traditional Indian attire.

In March, Rihanna sang at separate three-day pre-wedding celebrations in western Gujarat state. Bill Gates and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg were among the 1,200 guests at that event. And in May, the Ambanis organized a pre-wedding luxury European cruise with 800 guests including Bollywood stars and cricketers.

Videos and photos of recent celebrations — including a video of the Ambani family lip syncing and dancing to a Bollywood song as well as one of Mukesh Ambani and his wife driving along with their grandchildren — have flooded social media and are being extensively covered by Indian media.

Friday’s wedding will feature traditional Hindu rituals and the reception will be held over two days. On Monday, there will be a “special reception” for Ambani’s household staff, according to a document detailing the plans.

Rajan Mehra, chief executive of Club One Air, said the Ambanis have hired three of his company’s Falcon-2000 jets to ferry wedding guests and expects 100 plus private planes to be used for the events.

“The guests are coming from all over and each aircraft will make multiple trips across the country,” he said.

For some Mumbai residents, it’s all too much with social media buzzing with complaints.

“How can it be a public event? Surprised by special treatment on the pain of normal public,” asked one user on X.

“If it is a public event, can I go inside??,” asks another. — Reuters

US Justice Department says it disrupted Russian social media influence operation

TOWFIQU BARBHUIYA-UNSPLASH

WASHINGTON — The US Justice Department said on Tuesday that it disrupted a Russian operation that used fake social media accounts enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) to covertly spread pro-Kremlin messages in the United States and abroad.

The news comes four months before the US presidential election, which security experts widely believe will be the target of both hacking and covert social media influence attempts by foreign adversaries. Senior US officials have said publicly they are monitoring for schemes intended to disrupt the vote.

The Justice department secured court approval to seize two domain names and search nearly 1,000 social media accounts allegedly associated with the effort.

“With these actions, the Justice department has disrupted a Russian-government backed, AI-enabled propaganda campaign to use a bot farm to spread disinformation in the United States and abroad,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

Tuesday’s action marked the first time the United States publicly accused a foreign government of using generative AI in a foreign influence operation, according to Justice Department and FBI officials. US officials have warned that adversaries may use the growing power of AI systems to scale up efforts to spread misinformation.

The alleged operation, according to prosecutors, was organized through a private intelligence organization based in Russia staffed by Russian intelligence officers and a senior employee of the Moscow-based, government-funded news outlet Russia Today, or RT. The effort was approved and funded by the Kremlin in early 2023, according to the Justice Department.

Spokespersons for the Russian embassy in Washington and RT did not respond to requests for comment.

This private organization had designed a custom, AI-powered platform to create, control and manage hundreds of fake social accounts, which were made to look like real Americans, according to court documents.

The accounts on social media platform X have since been banned. They commonly posted pro-Kremlin talking points, including videos of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and criticized the Ukrainian government.

The United States worked with Dutch authorities on the investigation. The campaign was run from a server in the Netherlands, according to investigators. — Reuters

Pioneer continues to light the path for Filipinos as it marks Platinum Year

Pioneer Insurance Steering Committee members inaugurate Pioneer's Milestones and Achievements Exhibit. L-R: Digital Transformation and Shared Services Head Earl Ferrer, Pioneer Insurance and Surety Corp. President and CEO Betty Medialdea, Senior Advisors Ernesto Chan and Molly Uyecio, and Pioneer Group Head Lorenzo Chan, Jr.

Pioneer Insurance kicked off its 70th anniversary celebration, reinforcing its commitment to light the path forward for Filipinos, one innovation at a time.

Moving towards the future, the company’s passion to serve and innovate shines on as it continues to develop products relevant to Filipinos from all walks of life, set a global standard in inclusive insurance, mold future leaders through its Management Trainee program, create resilient communities through property coverages, and build Earth-friendly spaces through its LEED and WELL pre-certified buildings.

As part of its Platinum Year activities, Pioneer launched its Milestones and Achievements Exhibit at the Pioneer House Makati. Group Head Lorenzo Chan, Jr. opened the exhibit with a Lighting Ceremony, alongside Steering Committee members Betty Medialdea and Earl Ferrer, and Senior Advisors Ernesto Chan and Molly Uyecio.

Chan addressed employees, “The reason why we’ve done this exhibit is because we would not be here today if it weren’t for those who came before us. As you ponder where we came from, you will also ask yourselves what you will do for those who will come after you.”

Pioneer was founded in 1954 at the Quisumbing Building in Binondo, Manila, with a staff of five. Its first set of officers were Johnny Cheng as Chair, Lorenzo Chan Toh as President, and Yang Pao Wang as General Manager.

Over the years, the company wrote landmark coverages, such as the historic Thrilla in Manila featuring the heavyweight bout between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1975. This was the precursor of Pioneer’s future involvement in sports and live events, wherein for three decades and counting, it serves as the exclusive insurer of national athletes, coaches, and trainers in the Olympics, SEA Games, Asian Games and other sporting events here and abroad.

In 2007, Pioneer was also named by PULP Magazine as the country’s live events insurer. Among the many concerts covered by the company are One Direction “On the Road Again” Tour in 2015, Madonna “Rebel Heart” Tour in 2016, Coldplay “A Head Full of Dreams” Tour in 2017, Celine Dion Live in 2018, Blackpink “In Your Area World” Tour in 2019, and more.

Its market leadership and excellence has been recognized by the Euromoney Annual Global Insurance Survey which named Pioneer as Best Insurer in the Philippines for two consecutive years in 2009 and again in 2010. In 2012, Pioneer was recognized by the Insurance Commission for its contributions to the field of microinsurance, which now counts nearly 24 million in enrollments. At present, CARD Pioneer Microinsurance, Inc. is often cited as a global benchmark for inclusive insurance.

Amidst rainy days, the insurance group stayed true to its promise as it paid claims worth P1.2 billion during Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, and P4.5 billion during Typhoon Odette in 2021. Even at the height of the pandemic, Pioneer was never far away when it paid P1.13 billion worth of COVID-19-related claims from 2020-2022.

Based on the latest annual report from the Insurance Commission, Pioneer ranks No. 1 in Aviation, Marine Hull, Microinsurance, Special Risks; No. 2 in Casualty and Fire; and No. 3 in Crime Insurance and Marine Cargo.

All these milestones and achievements are featured in the exhibit, which is one of several activities lined up for the year-long commemoration of Pioneer’s platinum anniversary. Pioneer Kwentong Malasakit was also launched on social media, a series of videos that pay tribute to its various stakeholders.

“Pioneer is at a unique time in history. We ask ourselves what more can we do to add to the roster of pioneering efforts that came before us. We want to make every moment count for the people we serve,” Chan added.

 


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BPI empowers nano-entrepreneurs through enhanced SEAL Program

Photo shows Miguel's Craft Sorbetes, recognized as one of the top 20 microenterprises in the 2023 BPI SEAL-SEGA program.

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), through its social development arm, BPI Foundation (BPIF), launches the third year of its Small Enterprise Acceleration Lab (SEAL) Program with a new track called Business Education and Growth Initiative for Nano-entrepreneurs (BEGIN).

In partnership with Bayan Academy, which offers entrepreneurship and management training, SEAL provides programs that strengthen business skills and knowledge, and provides cash grants and potential linkages. With a focus on start-ups, SEAL-BEGIN will offer learning modules that amplify business creation and growth to help nano-entrepreneurs to navigate challenges and seize digital-age opportunities.

“As we launch SEAL this 2024, we are not just continuing a program; we are nurturing a movement. We are confident that the participants of this year’s SEAL program will benefit immensely from the comprehensive training, mentorship, and support that this program offers. This aligns with our vision to help build a better Philippines — one family, one community at a time,” said Carmina Marquez, BPIF Executive Director.

BPIF first introduced the SEAL Project Series in 2022 to assist and develop interventions for micro-enterprises, nano-enterprises, and those who aspire to start their entrepreneurial journey.

In support of the Republic Act No. 11337, also known as the Startup Act, SEAL-BEGIN will provide benefits and programs that enhance, encourage, and cultivate the Philippine Startup System. The new track originated in the second year of SEAL, the Small Enterprise Growth Agenda (SEAL-SEGA), which is a program designed to identify and support start-up businesses ready to develop viable ventures.

SEAL-BEGIN is open to nano-entrepreneurs and aspirants who are at least 18 years old, are either the owner or manager of the nano-enterprise, and are involved in the business operations. The nano-enterprise must be in the initial phase of establishing its proof of concept or testing its product or service-market fit. It must have business operations for at least three months, and is building up a working capital and business infrastructure. The deadline for submission for SEAL-BEGIN is July 22, 2024.

Photo shows an interview with previous SEAL-SEGA winners Jasmeen Obatay, owner of JAO Plaque Awards; and Fhelma Malimban, owner of Bugel’s, during the SEAL-SEGA and SEAL-BEGIN launch.

For more information about BPI SEAL-SEGA and SEAL-BEGIN, please visit BPIF’s Facebook and Instagram social media pages (@bpifoundationinc) or bpisealsega.com.ph.

 


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From across the seas: the Filipino diaspora’s support for their homeland

The rising number of Filipino Americans who want to give back to the Philippines is “partially rooted in identity,” said Audie T. Vergara, executive director of Apl.de.Ap Foundation International.

“A lot of the Filipino Americans I happen to come across today have been schooled in the United States, but they really have this interest to come back here to take whatever they do — say, in Silicon Valley — to the Philippines,” he said.

Read the related article: https://www.bworldonline.com/bw-launchpad/2024/07/10/606992/migrant-pinoys-urged-to-invest-in-phl-startups/ 

 

Interview by Patricia Mirasol
Editing by Arjale Jayrie G. Queral

Samsung Electronics union in South Korea says it will strike indefinitely

 – A workers’ union at tech giant Samsung Electronics in South Korea said on Wednesday it would continue to strike indefinitely, stepping up its campaign for better pay and benefits.

The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), whose roughly 30,000 members make up almost a quarter of the firm’s South Korean workforce, said it has decided to continue striking because management has shown no indication of holding talks after a strike that started on Monday.

“We haven’t spoken to management since we started the strike on Monday,” said Lee Hyun-kuk, the union’s vice president.

The union said it would extend the strike, which was initially planned to last three days through Wednesday. Mr. Lee told Reuters that the strike has disrupted production on certain chip lines such as with equipment running more slowly.

Samsung said the strike had caused no disruption during the first three days.

“Samsung Electronics will ensure no disruptions occur in the production lines. The company remains committed to engaging in good faith negotiations with the union,” the company said in a statement.

The union is becoming more vocal and seeking to be treated as an equal partner, adding to challenges at the world’s biggest memory chipmaker which is struggling to navigate competition in chips used for artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

Mr. Lee said about 6,500 workers have been participating in the strike and that the union will encourage more members to join.

Union officials have disputed reports of low participation, telling Reuters that the five-year-old body did not have enough time to educate members about the labour issues. The union held a training session on Tuesday and will conduct another on Wednesday.

Analysts said it would be difficult to verify whether the strike has disrupted production unless the union provides details of wafers and processes.

The union said it has revised demands to include a 3.5% increase in base salary and, instead of an extra day’s annual leave, a day off to mark the union’s founding. Lee said the management previously offered a 3% rise in base salary but the union wants 3.5% to better reflect inflation.

Samsung’s share price was down 0.3% while the benchmark KOSPI index was little changed as at 0423 GMT. – Reuters

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy says can’t predict Trump’s actions if elected

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, June 2, 2024. — REUTERS

 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he could not predict what Donald Trump would do if he regains the US presidency in November, but the whole world, including Russian leader Vladimir Putin, was awaiting the outcome of the ballot.

Mr. Zelenskiy, speaking in Washington as world leaders gather for this week’s NATO summit, said he hoped Mr. Trump would not quit the 75-year-old NATO alliance and that America would keep supporting Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s more than two-year-old invasion.

“I don’t know (him) very well,” Mr. Zelenskiy said of Mr. Trump, adding he had “good meetings” with him during Mr. Trump’s first presidency but said that was before Russia’s 2022 invasion.

“I can’t tell you what he will do, if he will be the president of the United States. I don’t know.”

Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the US presidential election in November, has frequently criticized the size of US military support for Ukraine – some $60 billion since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 – and called Mr. Zelenskiy “the greatest salesman ever.”

Two of his national security advisers have presented Mr. Trump with a plan to end US military aid to Ukraine unless it opened talks with Russia to end the conflict.

Mr. Trump’s dealings with Mr. Zelenskiy became the subject of his first impeachment as president by the US House of Representatives in 2019. He was accused of pressing Mr. Zelenskiy to help smear Joe Biden in return for aid, but was acquitted by the Senate in 2020.

On policy toward NATO, Trump has said he would “encourage” Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any alliance member that did not spend enough on defense and he would not defend them. The NATO charter obliges members to come to the defense of those who are attacked.

Mr. Zelenskiy urged US political leaders on Tuesday not to wait for the outcome of America’s November presidential election to move forcefully to aid his country, as he called for fewer restrictions on the use of US weaponry.

“Everyone is waiting for November. Americans are waiting for November, in Europe, Middle East, in the Pacific, the whole world is looking towards November and, truly speaking, Putin awaits November too,” Mr. Zelenskiy said.

“It is time to step out of the shadows, to make strong decisions … to act and not to wait for November or any other month.”

Earlier on Tuesday, President Joe Biden pledged to forcefully defend Ukraine at the NATO summit.

But Mr. Biden, 81, is reeling from 12 days of withering questions about his fitness for office as some of his fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill and campaign donors fear that he will lose the election after a halting debate performance on June 27.

Mr. Trump is leading Mr. Biden by 2.1 percentage points nationally, according to a polling average maintained by website FiveThirtyEight.

Asked about Mr. Putin’s views of Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump, Mr. Zelenskiy said cautiously: “Biden and Trump are very different. But they are supportive (of) democracy. And that’s why I think Putin will hate both of them.”

Mr. Zelenskiy’s choice of venue, the Ronald Reagan Institute, could be another sign of Ukraine’s effort to reach out to Republicans.

Andrew Weiss at the Carnegie Endowment think-tank said Kyiv has been trying to build “as many bridges to the Republican mainstream establishment as possible.”

“There’s a process underway in Kyiv of trying to think through the implications of a possible Trump return to the White House,” Mr. Weiss said.

Mr. Zelenskiy was introduced by top US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, who lauded the Ukrainian leader and strongly supported greater assistance to Kyiv.

“They need the tools to defend themselves to impose costs on their aggressors and to negotiate from positions of strength,” Mr. McConnell said. – Reuters

From FLiRT to FLuQE: what to know about the latest COVID variants on the rise

UNSPLASH

Disclaimer: This asset – including all text, audio and imagery – is provided by The Conversation. Reuters Connect has not verified or endorsed the material, which is being made available to professional media customers to facilitate the free flow of global news and information.

 

 

by Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, University of Newcastle

We’re in the midst of a bad cold and flu season in Australia. Along with the usual viral suspects, such as influenza, RSV, and rhinoviruses (which cause the common cold), bacterial pathogens are also causing significant rates of illness, particularly in children. These include Bordatella pertussis (whooping cough) and Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

Meanwhile, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) is responsible for recurring waves of infection as it continues to evolve and mutate into new variants which keep it a step ahead of our immunity.

The latest variant is nicknamed “FLuQE”, and is reportedly gaining traction in Australia and other countries. So what is there to know about FLuQE?

In recent months, you may have heard of the “FLiRT” subvariants. These are decedents of the Omicron variant JN.1, including KP.1.1, KP.2 and JN.1.7.

KP.2, in particular, significantly contributed to COVID infections in Australia and elsewhere around May.

The name FLiRT refers to the amino acid substitutions in the spike protein (F456L, V1104L and R346T). Amino acids are the molecular building blocks of proteins, and the spike protein is the protein on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 which allows it to attach to our cells. These changes in the spike protein arise from mutation – random changes in the genetic code of the virus.

SARS-CoV-2’s goal is to select mutations that produce a spike protein that binds strongly to our cells’ receptors to support efficient infection (sometimes called viral fitness) while avoiding neutralizing antibodies in our immune system (immune pressure).

The FLiRT mutations seem to reduce the ability of neutralizing antibodies to bind to the spike protein, potentially enabling the virus to better evade our immunity.

But at the same time, it appears the immune pressure which has selected for these mutations may have affected the ability of the virus to bind to our cells.

These findings are yet to be peer-reviewed (independently verified by other researchers). However, they suggest the FLiRT variants may have traded in some ability to infect our cells for a spike protein that’s more resistant to our immune system.

According to experts in Australia and internationally, what appears to have occurred with FLuQE is an additional mutation has restored fitness that may have been lost with the FLiRT mutations.

FLuQE (KP.3) is a direct descendant of FLiRT, meaning it has inherited the same mutations as the FLiRT variants. But it has an additional amino acid change in the spike protein, Q493E (giving FLuQE its name).

This means the amino acid glutamine at position 493 has changed to glutamic acid (the spike protein is 1,273 amino acids long). Glutamine is a neutral amino acid, whereas glutamic acid has a negative charge, which changes the properties of the spike protein. This could improve the ability of the virus to infect our cells.

It’s still early days for FLuQE and we don’t have peer-reviewed research on this yet. But it appears we now have (another) immune evasive virus that is also well adapted to infecting our cells. It’s no surprise, then, that FLuQE seems to be becoming dominant in many countries.

We would expect with widespread transmission of and infection with FLiRT and FLuQE variants, population immunity to these variants will mature, and in time, their dominance will be supplanted by the next immune-evasive variant.

The tug of war between our immune system and SARS-CoV-2 evolution continues. The issue we are dealing with now is vaccines don’t sufficiently protect from infection or suppress virus transmission. While they’re very good at protecting against severe disease, the virus still infects lots of people.

As well as the burden on people and health care, lots of infections means more opportunities for the virus to evolve. The more “rolls of the dice” the virus has to find a mutation that helps it evade our immune system and infect our cells, the more likely it is to do so.

Next-generation vaccines and therapies really need to boost immunity in the upper respiratory tract (nose and throat) to reduce infection and transmission. This is where infection initiates. A human challenge study, where volunteers are experimentally exposed to SARS-CoV-2, showed people who didn’t become infected had a robust anti-viral immune response in their upper respiratory tract.

To this end, there are immune-stimulating nasal sprays and nasal vaccines in clinical development. The hope is this approach will slow down the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and the emergence of new subvariants that continue to drive waves of infection and disease.

Fortunately, so far these mutations have not generated a virus that is obviously more pathogenic (causes worse disease), but there are no guarantees this won’t happen in the future. – Reuters