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Macron raises prospect of new European nuclear weapons

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he is ready to start discussions for nuclear deterrence for Europe in response to the threat posed by Moscow.

Macron told the newspaper Le Monde he was ready for talks about nuclear weapons for the continent following a request from the likely German chancellor, Friedrich Merz.

The French president's comments on Friday follow reports earlier in the week that France was ready to use its nuclear deterrent to help protect Europe.

Michael Witt from King's Business School, King's College London, told Newsweek that France's offer to extend its nuclear umbrella was in response to President Donald Trump signaling a retreat from NATO which meant Europe could not rely on U.S. protection.

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@ReeseSimmons

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As measles outbreak grows, HHS secretary says vaccination is a personal decision that can protect individuals and communities

As a measles outbreak in Texas has grown to nearly 150 cases, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in an opinion piece on Fox News on Sunday that parents should consult with health-care providers “to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine” for their children.

Kennedy did not explicitly recommend the vaccine, but said the outbreak was a “call to action for all of us to reaffirm our commitment to public health.”

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@Levi_Ross

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Canada PM Trudeau says protecting independence is his priority in talks with King Charles

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his priority in talks with King Charles on Monday will be protecting his country's sovereignty after U.S. President Donald Trump recently suggested making Canada the 51st U.S. state.

Trudeau said nothing is more important to his citizens than "standing up for our sovereignty and our independence", ahead of the meeting with Charles, who is Canada's head of state.

Last week, Charles invited Trump to what would be a historic second state visit to Britain, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer handing over the invitation during a meeting before the world's media in the Oval Office.

"I look forward to sitting down with His Majesty tomorrow, as always we will discuss matters of importance to Canada and Canadians, and I can tell you that nothing seems more important to Canadians than standing up for our sovereignty and our independence as a nation," Trudeau told reporters.

Trudeau, the outgoing prime minister, said last month that Trump's talk about absorbing Canada "is a real thing" and is linked to the country's rich natural resources.

Trump has repeatedly suggested Canada would be better off if it agreed to become the 51st U.S. state.

Trudeau was also asked about Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. "I stand with Zelenskiy," he said.

#Investing #News #Canada #KingCharles Read More...

@Jagger89

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Kenyan police deployed to Haiti haven’t received full promised salary in two months

Hundreds of Kenyan police officers leading an international policing force in Haiti have not received their full pay for two months, the latest complication in what has been a rocky start to the security mission in the gang-plagued Caribbean nation.

The first Kenyan officers deployed to Haiti arrived in June, the vanguard of a multinational security support mission (MSS) that is being funded largely by the United States. There are now around 400 Kenyan police in the country, many from specialized units.

In an August 25 statement acknowledging delays to payments, the MSS announced that officers could expect the missing funds to hit their bank accounts this week.

“Therefore, there is nothing to worry about (regarding) welfare issues of the MSS officers, since mainstream processes have been finalized,” the MSS added.

In a “progress report” released Monday, Kenya’s National Police Service (NPS) said that the officers were continuing “to draw their NPS salaries” while waiting for the supplemental pay for their MSS duties.


Kenyan officers had expected to be paid a significant supplement for their Haiti deployment – a grueling assignment more typical of a military than of a police force. Officers are not allowed to leave their base in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince during non-working hours.


Speaking to CNN, some officers expressed frustration and concern about the missing supplemental payments. With schools reopening in Kenya this week, some say they need the money urgently to manage school fees and other expenses for their families back home.

“The officers feel frustrated after not having been paid for two months. And we hear that the money has already been sent to Kenya but they haven’t paid us, so please help us out,” one officer in Haiti told CNN before the police statement was released, requesting anonymity.


The MSS force is expected to ultimately grow to 2,500, with more troops expected from Jamaica, Benin, Chad, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados and Belize. The force is hoped to bolster the Haitian National Police’s battles against an alliance of gangs that controls an estimated 85% of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.

Around 600,000 Haitians have been forced to flee their homes due to gang violence, and some 2 million people live in gang-ravaged areas where fear of attack is constant, Haitian interim Prime Minister Garry Conille said in an interview with CNN in early August.

The MSS is financed through a UN-managed trust fund, to which the US, Canada, France and Spain have contributed millions of dollars. The United States has committed at least $380 million overall in support of the mission, largely in the form of equipment and materiel. Read More...

@GlobalNewsDaily

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in 1961, Ranger 1, the first mission in the Ranger program, launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

#OTD in 1961, Ranger 1, the first mission in the Ranger program, launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. A rocket malfunction during launch caused the spacecraft to get stranded in low-Earth orbit. Read More...

@MarkJordan

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A Triangular Prominence Hovers Over the Sun

Image Credit & Copyright: Andrea Vanoni
Explanation: Why is there a triangle hovering over the Sun? Although the shape is unusual, the type of structure is not: it is part of an evolving solar prominence. Looping magnetic fields on the Sun channel the flow of energetic particles, sometimes holding glowing gaseous structures aloft for months.

A prominence glows brightly because it contains particularly hot, dense, or opaque solar plasma. The surprising triangular structure occurred last week. Larger than our Earth, the iconic prominence was imaged by several solar photographers and documented by NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory to form and violently dissipate in about a day.

The featured image was captured in a color of red light emitted strongly by hydrogen. Below, solar fibrils carpet the Sun's chromosphere, while the background sky is so faint in comparison that no stars are visible. Our Sun's surface has been quite active this year.

#space #sun #universe Read More...

@BrandonWalker