Ukrainian Border Guard Detains Two Chinese Nationals Accused Of Smuggling Babies

The Ukrainian State Border Guard, which has been managing the flow of refugees, posted an update to their official Facebook feed confirming rumors that two Chinese nationals had been detained for attempting to exit the country with Ukrainian babies.

“Two citizens of China tried to cross from Ukraine to Romania on foot with two tiny children. There were no documents for the babies,” the post reads. According to the Border Guard, they were alerted to the fact that the Chinese detainees had entered the country without children.

“Where did the children come from, the foreigners couldn’t answer. Now, this issue will be raised by the National Police staff.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/03/ukrainian-border-guard-detains-two-chinese-nationals-accused-smuggling-babies/

China Admits Defeat as ‘Grim’ Coronavirus Outbreak Hits 28 Provinces

Lei Zhenglong, the deputy head of the Chinese National Health Commission (NHC)’s Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control, admitted to reporters on Tuesday that China’s latest outbreak of the Chinese coronavirus has proven “difficult to prevent and control” and thus has spread across 28 Chinese provinces and regions as of Tuesday.

“[T]he current epidemic situation is grim and complex, making it difficult to prevent and control,” Lei told Chinese media outlets at a press conference on March 15.

“[The] Chinese mainland has reported more than 15,000 domestically-transmitted positive cases from March 1 to 14, affecting 28 provinces and regions,” the Chinese public health leader further revealed.

China’s state-run Global Times relayed Chinese NHC data on Tuesday while detailing region-specific outbreaks of the Chinese coronavirus within China’s nationwide epidemic of the disease. The newspaper wrote:

Chinese mainland [legal Chinese territory] reported 3,507 newly confirmed domestically-transmitted cases on Tuesday [March 15], with 3,076 reported by Northeast China’s Jilin Province, and reported another 1,647 silent cases. The total number of 5,154 positive cases has hit new records in China’s daily cases.

In COVID-19 [Chinese coronavirus] worst-hit Jilin Province, 8,201 patients were hospitalized, with more than 95 percent with mild cases or silent carriers, the NHC said.

Chinese state health officials refer to asymptomatic infections of the Chinese coronavirus as “silent cases.” China’s NHC said Tuesday the omicron variant of the Chinese coronavirus accounts for the majority of new infections of the disease documented in recent days.

The Global Times on March 14 quoted Chinese public health experts as saying “the fast spread of Omicron has prompted China to adjust its COVID-19 response to be more targeted and scientific, which includes the nationwide promotion of antigen self-test kits, and it may also see more residents quarantined at home instead of designated hotels.”

“Amid the fast spread of Omicron, China may also adjust its mixed nucleic acid testing policy, in which five or 10 samples are mixed in one group for speed testing,” Jin Dongyan, a biomedical professor at the University of Hong Kong, told the Global Times on Monday.

“The surge of cases indicates that a large number of mixed tests will turn positive, thus many people who are in the positive group — whether infected or not — have to be retested,” Jin said.

The Global Times is published by the People’s Daily, which is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

The Chinese coronavirus originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, sometime in the autumn or winter of 2019, according to the best estimates of international public health experts. Though much about the disease’s provenance remains unknown due to obfuscation by the Chinese Communist Party, the earliest documented cases of the Chinese coronavirus were recorded in Wuhan in December 2019. Chinese Communist Party officials failed to lock down Wuhan in time to prevent the city from suffering an explosive outbreak of the disease by early 2020. The Party’s containment failure ultimately allowed Wuhan’s initial infections of the Chinese coronavirus to spread beyond the city to other parts of China and the world.

Wuhan’s epidemic caused the ongoing Chinese coronavirus pandemic,officially declared by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020.

https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2022/03/15/china-admits-defeat-grim-coronavirus-outbreak-hits-28-provinces/

49 Republican Senators Will Oppose Iran Nuclear Deal

In a sign that getting the P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran through Congress might be difficult, if not impossible, 49 out of 50 Republican Senators have announced they will not back any deal that doesn’t limit Iran’s missile program and "confront Iran’s support for terrorism."

The deal isn’t intended to cover those issues, merely Iran’s civilian nuclear program. The terms are not public, but its not expected to touch on either issue. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the only senator to not come out opposed.

Sen. Paul said it didn’t make sense to condemn an unfinished deal, saying it is "not a very thoughtful position." It is unclear where Senate Democrats will fall on the deal.

Either way, reports noted that the nuclear deal survived Congress in 2015 despite overwhelming Republican objection and their control of the Senate. Now, they don’t control the body at all, so any attempt to block it outright is going to depend on support from Democrats.

How this will ultimately break down likely depends on if and when the deal is finalized, and what efforts the Biden Administration makes to sell the plan.

The Iran side of the deal promises to get more Iranian oil onto the global market, and potentially the US market too. With prices up on the Russia-Ukraine war, that could be a strong incentive.

At the same time, there are questions about how the deal will reconcile Iran sanctions relief and Russian responsibilities with new Russia sanctions. The US has said they won’t interfere, but has also demanded Russia stop asking for consultations on how the two deals won’t interfere. The US has threatened to leave the talks, and work out a bilateral deal without Russia.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/49-republican-senators-will-oppose-iran-nuclear-deal

Mitt Romney Joins Democrats in Vote to Mask Children

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) joined his Democrat colleagues on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee in voting to keep the federal mask mandate in place for children as young as two-years-old.

Romney voted against lifting the mask and vaccine mandates in the federal Head Start program during a HELP Committee hearing on the bipartisan PREVENT Pandemics Act.

The PREVENT Pandemics Act takes “common-sense steps to act on lessons learned from the pandemic response,” according to a committee press release.

Republican Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) introduced an amendment to the legislation that would prevent the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from “implementing or enforcing their regulations regarding mask or vaccination protections in the Head Start program again.”

According to HHS, the Head Start program requires “universal masking for all individuals two years of age and older” for those involved in the program.

Braun said:

After being subjected to federal mask mandates for almost two years, President Biden announced in his State of the Union address under the CDC’s new mask guidelines, most Americans in most of the country can now be mask-free. I completely agree with him on that. It’s time to get our lives back especially based upon science and not the political science.

Swing Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) supported Braun’s amendment, but it ultimately failed. Romney was the only HELP committee Republican to vote against lifting the mask mandates for young children.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul (R) said the federal government mandates are “punishing children.”

“The rest of America is insulted by you telling them that their kids who are not at risk from dying from this disease, are not spreading it, that somehow we’re going to force these kids to keep wearing masks. It’s unscientific, it’s inhumane, and it stunting their learning,” Paul said.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/03/15/mitt-romney-joins-democrats-in-vote-to-mask-children/

Biden to Announce $1 Billion in New Military Aid to Ukraine - WSJ

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1503879030776471553

Pfizer asks US to allow 4th COVID vaccine dose for seniors

NEW YORK and MAINZ, GERMANY, MARCH 15, 2022 — (News Release) – Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX) today announced the companies have submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of an additional booster dose adults 65 years of age and older who have received an initial booster of any of the authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccines. The submission is based on two real-world data sets from Israel analyzed at a time when the Omicron variant was widely circulating. Both data sets showed evidence that an additional mRNA booster increases immunogenicity and lowers rates of confirmed infections and severe illness.

An analysis of Israeli Ministry of Health records was conducted for over 1.1 million adults 60 years of age and older who had no known history of SARS-CoV-2 infection and were eligible for an additional (fourth dose) booster. These data showed rates of confirmed infections were 2 times lower and rates of severe illness were 4 times lower among individuals who received an additional booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine administered at least four months after an initial booster (third) dose compared to those who received only one booster dose.

Also included in the submission are results from an ongoing, open-label, non-randomized clinical trial in healthcare workers 18 years of age and older at a single study center in Israel who had been vaccinated with three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. Among the 154 (out of 700) participants who received an additional booster (fourth) dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine at least four months following the initial booster, neutralizing antibody titers increased approximately 7-fold to 8-fold at two and three weeks after the additional booster (fourth) dose compared to five months after the initial booster (third) dose. Additionally, there was an 8-fold and 10-fold increase in neutralizing antibody titers against the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) at one and two weeks after the additional booster dose, respectively, compared to five months after the initial booster. The study also revealed no new safety concerns in individuals who received an additional booster dose of the vaccine.

Emerging evidence, including data from Kaiser Permanente Southern California, suggests that effectiveness against both symptomatic COVID-19 1,2,3,4,5 and severe disease1,5 caused by Omicron wanes 3 to 6 months after receipt of an initial booster (third) dose. Thus, additional booster doses may be needed to ensure individuals remain adequately protected. These early studies indicate that an additional booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine administered at least 4 months after an initial booster dose could restore antibody titers to peak post-third dose titer levels,6 improve protection against both infection and severe disease in individuals 60 years of age and older in Israel,7 and have a similar safety profile to that of previous doses.6 These data were not included in the EUA filing submission being reviewed by the FDA.

https://breaking911.com/pfizer-biontech-seek-fda-authorization-for-fourth-covid-19-vaccine-doses-for-people-65-and-up/

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/australias-soaring-costs-of-living-will-begin-to-ease-when-vladimir-putin-gets-the-hell-out-of-ukraine-says-barnaby-joyce/news-story/0c4ad41919ac3174a4eaaf1f208121d8

A cross on top of a Brisbane church has divided a suburb and led to a pastor being threatened with a fine of more than $200,000.

Brisbane City Council has confirmed 13 complaints have been made after My Church Brisbane installed an illuminated cross on the church's roof.

Roseanne and Kerry live across the road from the church and the cross in question and said it is blinding.

"On our front verandah, you walk out and it blinds ya," Kerry told A Current Affair.

"I've been shopping, shopping at Brookside shopping centre, come in the street and it's like someone's got (a) high beam on ya."

The church's pastor, David Patch, told A Current Affair the cross was an important part of the church.

"It's a symbol of Christianity," Pastor Patch said.

"It's God's message to the community and to the world."

Since the complaints, the church has been forced to switch off the installation, with council enforcing a 9pm to 6am ban.

https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/community-divided-over-my-church-brisbane-bright-cross/00423c09-657a-498f-8bc0-151494590559

Legendary stunt king Chris Pfeiffer dead at age 51

A motorbike stunt icon and multiple world champion has died in a tragedy that has rocked the extreme sports community.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/legendary-stunt-king-chris-pfeiffer-dead-at-age-51/news-story/e714f611105c9986d3b616e5c8b4d5f4

Humanitarian flights for Ukraine loaded with weapons, protesting airport workers claim

Airport workers in Italy claim “humanitarian” cargo from Pisa was actually aimed at fueling the conflict

One of Italy’s largest trade unions has called for a protest outside the Pisa airport on Saturday, after receiving a tip from some employees that Ukraine relief flights were transporting weapons and ammunition, not food and medicine.

Several workers at the Galileo Galilei airport refused to load one of the cargo flights advertised as carrying humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The crates did not contain food and medication but weapons, ammunition and explosives instead, the Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) said in a statement on Monday evening.

“We strongly denounce this outright falsification, which cynically uses ‘humanitarian’ aid as cover to fuel the war in Ukraine,” the USB said.

The union said the workers refused to load the military supplies as that would lead to the deaths of their colleagues in Ukraine – namely, those working at the bases targeted by Russian missile strikes, where the weapons processed through US and NATO bases in Poland get delivered.

Francesca Donato, an Italian member of the European Parliament, commented on the union’s statement by calling on the government in Rome to “clarify” what is happening.

Meanwhile, dockworkers at the nearby port of Livorno joined the protest on Tuesday, praising their airport colleagues for standing up for their values.

“We stand alongside the Ukrainian peoples, the Donbass and Russia and we do not want to be complicit in this conflict,” the Porto Livorno chapter of USB said in a statement.

USB is calling for air traffic control of the Pisa airport to “immediately block these flights of death disguised as humanitarian aid.” A protest under the slogan “bridges of peace, not flights of war” is scheduled outside the airport for Saturday, March 19.

The union also called on all workers to refuse to load weapons and explosives, and for an immediate ceasefire and peace talks to end the conflict in Ukraine.

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 23, saying it needs to demilitarize and “denazify” the government in Kiev that sought NATO membership and nuclear weapons. The Ukrainian government has accused Russia of an unprovoked attack. NATO has pledged military and humanitarian aid to Kiev, while enacting a widespread embargo against Russia.

https://www.rt.com/russia/552015-italian-flights-ukraine-weapons-aid/