Independent US presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. has announced that he will support Republican candidate Donald Trump in the upcoming elections.
“I will be supporting Trump,” he said during his address to voters.
At the same time, Kennedy Jr. explained that this does not mean the end of his campaign. He said that his supporters would be able to vote for him in those states where Trump would not be able to win a majority of votes anyway.
At the same time, Kennedy Jr. noted that in 10 states where both Trump and his rival Kamala Harris have a chance of winning, he will withdraw his candidacy so as not to take votes away from the Republican candidate.
During the week, the US media wrote that Kennedy might announce his withdrawal from the race in the near future.
On Tuesday, Trump told CNN that if he wins, he may give Kennedy a position in his administration if he refuses to run and supports the Republicans.
In April 2023, JFK Jr. announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential primary. However, he later stated that he would run as an independent candidate.
In recent months, American media have noted that Kennedy would not have a serious chance of winning if he ran. However, in a number of states, he could have taken a significant number of votes from other candidates and thus influenced the election results.
Robert Kennedy Jr, 70, is an environmental lawyer and anti-vaccination activist. He is the son of former New York Senator and U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy and the nephew of the 35th President John F. Kennedy.
Earlier, the Experts Club analytical center presented an analytical material on the most important elections in the world in 2024, a detailed video analysis is available here – https://youtu.be/73DB0GbJy4M?si=eGb95W02MgF6KzXU
There are no registered cases of monkeypox in Ukraine, according to Deputy Health Minister and Chief Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine Ihor Kuzin.
“No such cases have been registered in Ukraine. In fact, they are estimated to be quite low, given the lack of transport and air traffic,” he said during a telethon on Wednesday.
Kuzin clarified that there was an appropriate response to monkeypox and relevant WHO recommendations even before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“The emergency situation declared by the WHO at this time is related to the fact that a new subtype of the monkeypox virus has begun to circulate. This new subtype is now being detected in the vast majority of cases among those population groups that were not previously at risk,” he said.
The Deputy Minister noted that during the first wave of monkeypox, Ukraine received vaccines against the disease thanks to the EU.
Earlier, the Experts Club information and analytical center released a video with a detailed explanation of the origin of the disease and the prospects for its spread – https://youtu.be/YXYU6KcQTcQ?si=wEj2TQc3MPHGx0QY
The EU Health Safety Committee has concluded that there are no grounds to consider the situation in the European Union in connection with the cases of monkeypox an emergency, European Commission (EC) spokesperson Stefan de Kersmaeker said.
“Our approach is based on scientific evidence, and it served as the basis for our discussions at the committee meeting the day before. The European Commission and EU Member States met to discuss the situation and consider how to coordinate the next steps. The Health Safety Committee agreed that there is currently no emergency situation in Europe concerning monkeypox,” the spokesman said at a briefing in Brussels on Tuesday.
He referred to an analysis published on August 16 by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, according to which “the overall risk to the population remains low at present.”
The EC representative also said that the committee members agreed on the need for a coordinated approach to this problem and close monitoring of the situation.
Answering a question about the availability of monkeypox vaccines in the EU, de Kersmaeker noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of preparedness for health crises. He said that since 2022, several contracts have been signed with different companies, and these vaccines have already been distributed to Member States.
“Our latest joint framework contract provides for the purchase of up to 2 million doses of vaccines,” the EC representative added.
Monkeypox is a rare viral disease. The infection is accompanied by fever, intoxication, swollen lymph nodes and further spread of the rash – first in the form of spots that transform into bubbles, after opening them, ulcers form, after they heal, crusts form, and when they fall off, scars form. In mild cases, the disease usually resolves on its own and lasts from 14 to 21 days.
Last week, the WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern due to the outbreak of monkeypox in Congo and other African countries. This year, more than 14 thousand cases of the disease have been detected in Congo, with 524 deaths recorded.
Earlier, the Experts Club information and analytical center released a video with a detailed explanation of the origin of the disease and the prospects for its spread – https://youtu.be/YXYU6KcQTcQ?si=wEj2TQc3MPHGx0QY
The National Committee of the US Democratic Party has launched an electronic voting procedure that is expected to result in the endorsement of US Vice President Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate in the 2024 elections.
According to ABC News, the voting began on Thursday at 09:00 am US East Coast time (16:00 GMT) and will end on Monday at 18:00 pm US East Coast time (01:00 GMT on Tuesday).
The electronic ballots that the delegates to the Democratic Party convention will receive contain only Kamala Harris’ name. According to the party, 3,923 delegates representing different regions of the country had previously filed a petition asking to put Harris’ name on the ballot. To be officially nominated as a presidential candidate, she must be supported by at least 1976 delegates.
Thus, Harris’s official endorsement may take place two weeks before the Democratic Convention, which opens on August 19 in Chicago. Voting will also take place there, but it will be purely ceremonial.
On July 21, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race, but will continue to serve as president until the end of his term and called on the Democratic Party to nominate Harris as its presidential candidate.
The US presidential election is scheduled for November 5, 2024.
Earlier, the Experts Club think tank presented an analytical material on the most important elections in the world in 2024, a more detailed video analysis is available here – https://youtu.be/73DB0GbJy4M?si=eGb95W02MgF6KzXU
You can subscribe to the Experts Club YouTube channel here – https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
Moldova’s incumbent President Maia Sandu is leading the ranking of potential candidates for the October 30 elections, according to an opinion poll presented at a press conference on Tuesday.
According to the poll, if the presidential election were held next Sunday, 30.3% of respondents would vote for Sandu, 13% for the head of the Socialist Party, Igor Dodon (who has already announced that he will not run); 6.5% – for the leader of Our Party Renato Usatîi; 5.6% – for the former bashkan of Gagauzia Iryna Vlah; 5.4% – for the mayor of Chisinau Ion Ceban, who, like Dodon, has stated that he does not intend to run.
Almost one in five respondents said they had not yet decided who they would vote for. If we take into account only the voters who have decided, 39.3% are ready to vote for Sandu, 16.9% for Dodon, and 8.5% for Usatîi.
Former prosecutor Alexandru Stoianoglo, whom the Socialist Party decided to nominate as an opposition candidate, gained 1% in the poll.
“Stoyanoglo recently announced his intention to run. He was not included in the list of presidential candidates, and this 1% is those who named Stoyanoglo on their own. It is possible that Stoyanoglo’s rating may be significantly higher now,” said Vasyl Kantarzhy, director of the CBS-Reserarch sociological company.
Speaking about the level of trust in politicians, he noted that when asked an open question about trust in politicians, 21.3% of respondents named Sandu, 7.2% – Dodon and 4.6% – fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor. They are followed by the head of the Our Party, Usatîi (3.3%), and the mayor of Chisinau, Ceban (3.2%).
At the same time, 38.2% of respondents said they did not trust any of the politicians.
The poll was conducted by CBS-Reserarch on behalf of the Institute for European Policy and Reform. The survey was conducted on June 28-July 18 with the participation of 1119 people. The margin of error is 2.9%.
Earlier, the Experts Club think tank and Maksim Urakin presented an analytical material on the most important elections in the world in 2024, a more detailed video analysis is available here – https://youtu.be/73DB0GbJy4M?si=eGb95W02MgF6KzXU
The article collects and analyzes the main macroeconomic indicators of Ukraine. In connection with the entry into force of the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of the Interests of Business Entities during Martial Law or a State of War”, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine suspends the publication of statistical information for the period of martial law, as well as for three months after its termination. The article analyzes open data from the State Statistics Service, the National Bank, and think tanks.
Maksim Urakin, PhD in Economics, founder of the Experts Club think tank and Director of Development and Commerce at Interfax-Ukraine, presented an analysis of macroeconomic trends in Ukraine and the world based on official data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the NBU, the UN, the IMF, and the World Bank.
Macroeconomic indicators of Ukraine
According to the Center’s founder, Maksim Urakin, gross domestic product growth in May 2024 compared to May last year was approximately 3.7%.
“This figure is lower than the April and March levels, which amounted to 4.3% and 4.6%, respectively, due primarily to a drop in electricity generation. At the same time, the positive value of GDP change is related to exports and demand in the construction industry, as well as the recovery in metallurgy and machine building,” Urakin said.
Also, according to Urakin, the total public debt of Ukraine, after reaching a new historical high in April, decreased by $0.53 billion (0.3%) in May and amounted to $150.99 billion. Inflation in Ukraine increased to 0.6% in May compared to 0.2% in April in annualized terms, which is generally in line with the NBU’s target range.
Global economy
Maksim Urakin cited the World Bank’s (WB) forecast, according to which the global economy is expected to grow by 2.6% in 2024 (the earlier forecast assumed growth of 2.4%), and up to 2.7% in 2025-2026.
“In emerging economies, the average annual GDP growth rate in 2024-2025 is expected to reach 4%, which is slightly lower than last year. Growth in low-income countries will accelerate to 5% in 2024 compared to 3.8% in 2023. At the same time, developed countries are expected to grow by 1.5% in 2024 and by 1.7% in 2025,” the expert emphasized.
He also added that the growth prospects of the world’s poorest countries remain ambiguous.
“They face a heavy debt burden, reduced trade opportunities and other factors that negatively affect their economies. These countries need to find ways to stimulate private investment, reduce public debt, and improve education, healthcare, and basic infrastructure,” Urakin said.
According to the founder of the Experts Club, although food and energy prices have declined in all regions of the world, core inflation will remain high in the medium and long term.
