IISS study finds there are 183 regional and local conflicts underway in 2023, the highest number in 30 years.
The intensity of conflict has risen year on year, with fatalities increasing by 14% and violent events by 28% in the latest survey.
The International Committee of the Red Cross catalogues 459 armed groups whose activities provoke humanitarian concerns, with 195 million people living under their full or partial control.
Ukraine remains, unsurprisingly, the most violent place on the planet, but Syria, Brazil, Myanmar, Mexico and Iraq are also riven.
The numbers of refugees displaced by war are stunning: more than six million in Syria, five million in Afghanistan, a million in Myanmar.
Source: Bloomberg
🛢📈 — Reuters reports that oil is approaching $100 per barrel following the latest exchange of attacks between Americans and Iranians on oil tankers.
▶️The price of Brent crude has risen to $97.07 per barrel, while American WTI crude has risen to $92.28. In the past week, Brent has risen by 7.8%, while WTI has risen by nearly 10%.
▶️On Saturday, U.S. forces attacked three Iranian oil tankers, one of which was stationed near the island of Kharg, a key center for Iranian oil exports. In response, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced attacks on three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and three more U.S. ships.
▶️In this context, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has sharply declined. Over the past 10 days, an average of only 10 cargo ships have transited the strait per day – the lowest level since May.
The WHO now states on its website:
Vaccination against COVID-19 can trigger multiple sclerosis through cross-reactive CD4+-T cells that recognize the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and myelin peptides.
In other words: Your own immune system destroys the nerve pathways and then attacks your brain and spinal cord.