International
Ukraine attacks the port of Berdyansk with missiles, according to pro-Russian authorities
The Ukrainian army attacked the port of Berdiansk, in the Sea of Azov, with missiles on Saturday, according to the pro-Russian authorities of the Zaporyy region today.
“The enemy perpetrated an attack with guided missiles against the port of Berdiansk. The fires caused by the impact have been suffocated,” reported the governor imposed by Moscow, Yevgueni Balitski, on his Telegram channel.
The governor, who was recently received in Moscow by Russian President Vladimir Putin, stressed that the attack did not cause injuries among the civilian population and did not interrupt the work of the port facilities.
In turn, he assured that anti-aircraft defenses continue to be on maximum alert, since new Ukrainian attacks against the city are not ruled out.
At the end of October Kiev had already attacked the strategic port under Russian control since 2022 with a dead old woman.
The Russian army controls more than 70% of Zaporiyia and tries to take control of the rest of the region as it advances at forced marches in neighboring Donetsk.
North Korean soldiers in the Belgorod region, according to Ukraine
Ukraine claims that North Korean soldiers, who until now were only in the Russian region of Kursk, were also transferred to Belgorod, which borders the northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv.
“Some soldiers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea were transferred to the border of the Belgorod region,” the head of the Central Intelligence Department of the National Security and Defense Council, Andrí Kovalenko, wrote on Telegram.
The senior Ukrainian official stressed that “they are not in the Kharkiv region,” as some US media had reported based on Ukrainian sources.
The Kremlin rules out a second onde of mobilization
For its part, the Kremlin today ruled out a second wave of mobilization of reservists to fight in Ukraine with a view to the fourth year of fighting in the neighboring country.
“Our citizens very actively sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense,” Dmitri Peskov, presidential spokesman, told the official agency RIA Novosti.
Peskov stressed that volunteers carry out courses in which they are instructed “consciously,” so “now there is no need to talk about mobilization.”
“There are many, hundreds who sign contracts every day,” he added.
The Kremlin has refrained from declaring a new partial mobilization after the first one in September 2022 caused great popular discontent and the exodus of hundreds of thousands of military-age men.
1,000 days of combat
Fighting in Ukraine reached 1,000 days this week with Russian forces advancing in forced marches in the Donbas, although Moscow has not yet been able to expel Ukrainian troops from the Kursk region.
Ukraine hopes to slow down the current Russian offensive with Western authorization to use American and British long-range missiles against targets in Russian territory, which Kiev used against the Bryansk and Kursk regions.
Russia responded on Thursday by launching an Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile at an arms factory in the Ukrainian region of Dnipro.
In addition, on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that there will be more launches and announced the mass production of those new generation missiles capable of circumventing any Western missile shield.
International
U.S. health authorities report mutation of avian flu virus in Louisiana patient
The avian flu virus mutated inside the first seriously ill patient in the United States, according to the country’s health authorities. However, they assured that, so far, no person-to-person transmission of the virus has been identified in this patient, who is hospitalized in Louisiana.
Scientists warned that while it is concerning because mutations could make the virus potentially more transmissible between humans, they would be alarming if found in animal hosts or in the early stages of infection or symptom onset, which would facilitate the spread to close contacts.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have identified at least 65 human cases of avian flu in the United States, with more than half (36) reported in California, including the country’s first child infected with this virus.
CDC analysis of the Louisiana patient identified mutations in the hemagglutinin gene, which were not found in the samples from infected poultry at the source of the outbreak. This suggests that the changes emerged as the virus replicated in the seriously ill patient.
International
José Mujica’s recovery continues with successful stent procedure in esophagus
Former Uruguayan President José Mujica underwent surgery on Friday, during which a stent was successfully placed in his esophagus. In April, a malignant tumor was discovered in the area, which was treated with radiation therapy.
“We did it today because the situation required it at this moment. This will allow him to continue eating orally, continue receiving food as before, and maintain his recovery at home,” explained his personal doctor, Raquel Pannone, in a press conference.
She also took the opportunity to explain how the stent works.
“It is a prosthesis. A device placed inside the esophagus that self-expands. This metal device adheres to the walls of the esophagus and remains there, expanding the esophagus’ opening and allowing the passage of food,” she detailed.
International
Preliminary Investigation Suggests ‘External Interference’ in Azerbaijan Airlines Plane Crash in Kazakhstan
Azerbaijan Airlines stated on Friday that the plane that crashed in Kazakhstan experienced “external, physical, and technical interference,” based on preliminary investigation results, fueling speculation that the aircraft may have been struck by Russian defense missiles.
The Embraer 190 aircraft, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines and carrying 67 people, was en route from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, the capital of the Chechen Republic in Russian territory, when it crashed near Aktau, a port on the Caspian Sea in western Kazakhstan, far from its intended route. The crash resulted in the deaths of 38 people, according to Kazakh authorities.
In response to the incident, Azerbaijan Airlines announced the suspension of its flights to several Russian cities, as the “preliminary results of the investigation into the Embraer 190 crash… point to external, physical, and technical interference.”
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U.S. health authorities report mutation of avian flu virus in Louisiana patient
José Mujica’s recovery continues with successful stent procedure in esophagus
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