Good morning,
Israel and Gaza
The question is when the operation by Israel to dismantle Hamas in Gaza will end, as mounting international pressure forces P.M. Netanyahu to stop the humanitarian disaster. Israel has tried to kill Hamas’s military commander Mohammed Deif at least twice in the past week and a half say Israeli reports, and apparently failed.
Israel has hit deep under ground storage tunnels which criss cross Gaza, and are used by militants to hide and emerge to carry out more rocket attacks. And as in all these conflicts, the military will claim great success, but it will be sometime before it’s know if they succeeded.
Hospitals have been taken off line by power cuts, sewer lines destroyed, schools damaged or completed destroyed, and the fresh water plant also no longer in operation. 2 million people in Gaza are suffering, and the civilian losses are causing even America, to call for a cease fire.
The difficulty is this, the conflict is bolstering Netanyahu’s political standing inside Israel, and as he has shown many times he will do anything to hold onto power. He has been unable to form a Government and was in the process of being forced out of office, but this may save him so he will use this crisis for political gain and that may delay an end to violence.
The Pandemic
We have heard on other podcasts here, that experts think the pandemic began in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Now Back Story Host Dana Lewis interviews Dr. Steven Quay, a scientist who has run statistical analysis that seems to indicate a lab leak was almost certainly the cause of the pandemic. The Chinese of course say that’s false but in examining 80 thousand species they have been unable to trace the virus.
Dr. Quay and many other scientists believe that Covid19 wasn't a naturally occurring virus, but came about through controversial science called 'Gain of Function' experiments, and that the virus must then have escaped. And, remarkably we know the U.S. Government was sending money to the Wuhan '“bat lady” who ran the lab.
Subscribe for free to BackStory with Dana Lewis podcast. Here is the podcast link on the Wuhan Lab.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1016881/8534084
India Variant
The highly transmissible India Covid variant has been spreading in the UK faster than the UK variant which resulted in a huge surge in illness, deaths, and hospitalizations.
In fact the numbers of India variant infections has reportedly tripled in the last week! And in the midst of that crisis, reports the UK Government has allowed flights from India to land despite this new crisis.
People over 50 years old are being asked to now get their second dose of the vaccine sooner to lower fears of more hospitalizations. And in the midst of this, the UK is opening indoor seating in restaurants and pubs etc.
It all seems too soon too fast, and sensible people continue to wear masks and social distance. Other European Nations are also beginning to reopen. Cafes and restaurants in France reopened Wednesday. The City of Light's museums, cinemas and theatres are also reopening ahead of a full-scale unlocking of the economy on June 30.
Across England, prevalence of the virus has fallen to about 1 in 1,000 people, a level not seen since August last year; however, case rates are twice as high in participants of an Asian heritage compared with white people.
Trump Investigation
Donald Trumps property organization is now under investigation by the New York Attorney’s General Office for criminal dealings. A spokesman for the state's top prosecutor, Letitia James, said the inquiry into Mr Trump's property company was "no longer purely civil".
Investigators will look at Trump loans and stated asset values, and how he may have hidden payments to cover up affairs with women.
Trump’s tax filings are part of the inquiry, but so far there is no word on what has turned the investigation into a criminal probe.
Have a good everyone, and please subscribe to this news letter so you get it in your email.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/18/world/middleeast/gaza-israel.html
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/more-100-flights-india-land-24137946
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57166735