EU PLEDGES LONG-TERM SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE AT FOREIGN MINISTERS’ MEETING

EU foreign ministers convened in Kyiv, marking a historic first-ever meeting outside the bloc, to reaffirm their steadfast support for Ukraine. This gathering occurred amidst concerns triggered by a pro-Russian candidate's recent election victory in Slovakia and the omission of Ukraine war aid from a US Congressional spending bill.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, downplayed these developments, emphasizing that the broader importance of Ukraine's situation is well understood by the international community, including the United States. Kuleba also indicated that it's premature to assess the full impact of Slovakia's election results, as a new government must still be formed.

While Western leaders had hoped for more significant progress in Ukraine's military counter-offensive, which has been slower than anticipated, President Zelensky expressed confidence that cooperation with international partners would lead to success. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell proposed a substantial EU spending package of up to 5 billion euros for Ukraine in 2024, further underlining the EU's unwavering commitment to Ukraine's prosperity and security.

TRUMP FACES NEW YORK FRAUD TRIAL AMID ACCUSATIONS AND DEFENSES

The high-stakes fraud trial involving former U.S. President Donald Trump is now underway in a Manhattan courtroom. New York State lawyers, led by Attorney General Letitia James, have accused Trump and his company of repeatedly misrepresenting his wealth in financial statements, deceiving banks, insurers, and other parties. Kevin Wallace, a lawyer from James' office, argued that Trump manipulated financial information for over a decade to secure better loan terms and lower insurance premiums, resulting in over $1 billion in illicit gains.

In response, Christopher Kise, Trump's defense lawyer, contended that the financial statements in question were entirely legal and highlighted Trump's successful track record in real estate investments.

Trump voluntarily attended the trial, where his control over several prized properties, including Trump Tower, hangs in the balance. Judge Arthur Engoron had previously ruled that Trump committed fraud in his business dealings, a decision that, if upheld, could lead to significant consequences for Trump's real estate holdings.

Throughout the trial, Trump has repeatedly characterized the lawsuit as a politically motivated "scam" and "witch hunt." He believes that the case is designed to hinder his potential return to the White House. The trial will continue with Judge Engoron set to rule on six other claims in the lawsuit, and James seeking $250 million in penalties along with a ban on Trump doing business in New York.

US BUDGET SETBACK FOR KYIV HARBINGER OF WAR FATIGUE: RUSSIA

The Kremlin said on Monday it believed a decision by US Congress to pass a stopgap funding bill that omitted aid for Ukraine was a temporary setback for Kyiv, but forecast war fatigue in the West would grow and increasingly split opinion. Congress passed legislation on Saturday which extended funding for more than a month to avoid a government shutdown but did not include any aid for Kyiv, despite Washington’s status as Ukraine’s biggest financial and military backer.

SLOVAKIA’S FICO GETS 2 WEEKS TO FORM GOVT

Slovakia’s leftist election winner Robert Fico got a two-week window to negotiate a coalition government on Monday, after steering his party to an election victory over the weekend with promises to stop military aid to Ukraine. Fico campaigned on rhetoric that would shift Slovakia, a EU and Nato member state, closer to Hungary in challenging the bloc’s consensual support of Ukraine against Russia.

MED NOBEL FOR SCIENTISTS BEHIND MRNA COVID VACCINE

Hungarian scientist Katalin Karikó and her US colleague Drew Weissman, who met in line for a photocopier before making mRNA molecule discoveries that paved the way for Covid-19 vaccines, won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine on Monday. Their work enabled potent vaccines to be made in less than a year, but the breakthroughs behind the shots unfolded little by little over decades, including at the University of Pennsylvania, where Weissman runs a lab.

The technology could be used in the future to develop shots against other diseases like cancer and lupus.

Weissman said that he found out about the prize at 4 am when Karikó texted him, asking if he had heard from To mas yet. “No. Who’s Tomas?” he replied. Kariko told him that Tomas was from the Nobel committee. He was looking for Weissman’s phone number.

Karikó, the 13th woman to win the prize, languished for many long years without funding or a permanent academic position, keeping her research afloat only by latching onto more senior scientists at UPenn. She was forced to retire from the university a decade ago, she said.

PAK INFLATION UP 31.4% Y/Y AMID HIGH ENERGY PRICES

Karachi : Pakistan’s inflation rate rose to 31.4% yearon-year in September from 27.4% in August, statistics bureau data showed on Monday, as the nation reels from high fuel and energyprices.

The country is embarking on a tricky path to economic recovery under a caretaker government after a $3 billion loan programme approved by the IMF in July averted a sovereign debt default, but with conditions that complicated efforts to rein in inflation.

On a month-on-month basis, inflation climbed 2% in September, compared to an increase of 1.7% inAugust.

Interest rates have also risen to their highest at 22%, and the rupee hit all-time lows in August before recovering in September to become the best performing currency following a clampdown on unregulated FX trade.

‘RUSSIA MAY BE PLANNING TO TEST N-POWERED MISSILE’

Satellite imagery and aviation data suggest Russia may be preparing to test an experimental nuclear-powered cruise missile, the Burevestnik or SSC-X-9 Skyfall, in its remote Arctic base. US surveillance planes have also been observed in the area recently, raising concerns. Previous tests of the missile from 2017 to 2019 were unsuccessful, with the missile failing to meet its designed range of approximately 14,000 miles. Experts believe it could carry a smaller nuclear payload and potentially devastate large urban areas and military targets. Russia has been secretive about the missile's design but confirmed it is nuclear-powered, aiming to create a strategic weapon that can outmaneuver US defenses. The missile's launch and flight are powered by a solid-fuel rocket motor and a small nuclear reactor, theoretically allowing it to stay aloft indefinitely. However, the secretive nature of the program makes it difficult to predict if a test is imminent.

KYIV CRITICISES MUSK FOR MAKING FUN OF ZELENSKY

Ukraine on Monday reacted angrily to a social media post by billionaire Elon Musk that made fun of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s repeated calls for Western military and financial aid to fight Russian forces. Musk has provided Ukraine with Starlink satellite services that have been vital to the Ukrainian army, but some have criticised his statements on the war with Russia. Musk owns the social media platform X where he posted a meme of Zelensky earlier Monday. The caption read: “When it’s been five minutes and you haven’t asked for a billion dollars in aid.” “Any silence or irony towards Ukraine today is a direct encouragement of Russian propaganda that justifies mass violence and destruction,” presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak answered on X.

AT US TRIAL, NADELLA HITS OUT AT ‘DOMINANT’ GOOGLE

Washington : Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told a US court on Monday that Google’s dominance of the search engine market made it very hard for rivals to emerge, hitting out sharply at the business practices of his company’s archrival. Nadella spoke to a courtroom in Washington DC, where lawyers from the US department of justice are attempting to persuade a federal judge that Google has illegally paid billions to Apple and others to preserve its monopoly.

Microsoft’s Bing has been trying since 2009 to build market share against Google, but Nadella said it could never compete against the search engine behemoth, largely due to its arrangements withApple.“You can call it popular, but to me it’s dominant,” Nadella told a Google lawyer during tense cross examination.

The three-month trial is the biggest US antitrust case against a big tech company since the same department took on Microsoft more than two decades ago over the dominance of its Windows operating system. Nadella broadly backed the government’s contention that Google’s intake of data from being the world’s preeminent search engine created a network effect that only made Google a more powerful tool to advertisers and users.

“It becomes even harder to break through when you don’t have (market) share,” Nadella said. Nadella said distribution was key to a successful search engine and that his company was prepared to pay Apple dearly to give Bing the default status on the iPhone.

WHO RECOMMENDS SECOND MALARIA VAX, IT WILL BE ROLLED OUT NEXT YEAR

Geneva : The World Health Organization recommended on Monday the use of a second malaria vaccine to curb the lifethreatening disease spread to humans by some mosquitoes.

“Almost exactly two years ago, WHO recommended the broad use of the world’s first malaria vaccine called RTS,S,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesussaid. “Today, it gives me great pleasure to announce that WHO is recommending a second vaccine called R21/Matrix-M to prevent malaria in children at risk of thedisease.” R21/Matrix-M, developed by Britain’s University of Oxford, will become available to countries by mid-2024, Tedros said, adding that doses would cost between $2 and $4.

R21/Matrix-M is mass manufactured by Serum Institute of India and uses Novavax’s Matrix M adjuvant. Adar Poonawalla, CEO of SII, said it had already produced more than 20 million doses in anticipation of WHO’s recommendation. “We will ramp it up as per what the demand requirements are,” he said. “We hope that by the end of 2024, there will be zero mismatch of demand and supply, with oursupply coming intothesystem.”

100+ DOLPHINS DIE IN AMAZON AS WATER TEMP REACHES 39°C

Manaus : Around 120 river dolphins, a unique freshwater species found only in South American rivers, have been discovered dead in a tributary of the Amazon river. Experts suspect that the deaths were caused by severe drought and heat. Low river levels during a severe drought have led to higher water temperatures that the dolphins cannot tolerate. This crisis adds to the recent deaths of thousands of fish in Amazon rivers due to oxygen depletion. The river dolphins have slow reproductive cycles, making them particularly vulnerable to such threats. Scientists are conducting autopsies on the carcasses to determine the exact cause of death, although they suspect drought and heat are major factors. Water temperatures spiked to 39°C, over 10 degrees higher than average, leading to at least 70 carcasses surfacing.