RFK Jr alarms medical experts with vaccine 'placebo testing' plans

Press Review

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, May 1: The Spanish papers continue to wonder what – or who – was responsible for the Great Blackout that plunged Spain and Portugal into darkness this week. Is renewable energy to blame? Also: US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr alarms medical experts over his plans to impose placebo testing of vaccines. Plus: Steven Spielberg reveals what he thinks is the greatest film of all time.

There is lots of scrutiny around renewable energies after the shock nationwide power outage that hit Spain and Portugal earlier this week. Spanish daily La Vanguardia asks that very question on the front page of its website: Who is to Blame for the Great Blackout? Was it a photovoltaic plant that shut down, a French disconnection, a poorly designed IT system or overconfidence in the system's infallibility? We still don't know what caused the blackout, but many have been quick to blame renewable energy for the system's failure. But in the same edition, La Vanguardia interviews the head of an energy research group, Jose Luis Dominguez, who says that Spain needs to continue investing in renewable energy. He concedes, though, that the blackout highlights the need for adjustments in regulation and oversight of companies. And that the low inertia of solar and wind energy requires more investment and innovation in reacting to unforeseen circumstances. That's the message echoed in an article from Reuters entitled "Don't blame renewables for Spain's power outage". Instead, the news agency says, Monday’s blackout should be a warning to governments that investment in power storage and grid upgrades are just as important as expanding renewable energy projects.

The US department of health is planning to change the way vaccines are tested and critics say the move could undermine public trust in immunisation. The Washington Post reports that Robert F. Kennedy Jnr wants to impose placebo testing in all new vaccines, in which people receive either the vaccine or an inert substance like a saline shot. Placebo testing is commonplace for new pathogens but not for well-researched diseases like measles and polio. Medical experts say this could be unethical because the placebo group would not receive a known effective intervention to a potentially deadly disease. The Post says the health department wants to increase transparency. Since Kennedy Jnr's appointment as head of health, the US top vaccine regulator Peter Marks has resigned under pressure, while Kennedy Jnr has continued to express his scepticism around vaccines amid an ongoing deadly measles outbreak in the US.

The investigative journalism nonprofit collective Forbidden Stories has released a new report detailing the shocking treatment of Ukrainians in a Russian prison. Forbidden Stories is a collective which aims to continue the investigative reporting of journalists who have been silenced. Their Victoriia Project is named for Ukrainian journalist Victoriia Roshchyna's efforts to document the war in Ukraine. On her fourth trip in 2023, however, she never came back. Earlier this year, what has been identified as her body was delivered to Ukraine. Forbidden Stories details the treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of wars and in some cases, civilians at the notorious Taganrog prison. This is where Victoriia ended up. The articles describes the prison as "synonymous with the most violent types of treatment imaginable, reminiscent of the worst Soviet gulags". According to former inmates, beatings, unimaginable torture and food deprivation were routine occurrences at the prison. They also faced punishment for speaking Ukrainian and some inmates ended up committing suicide as a result of the torture.

In cinema news, Steven Spielberg has revealed what he thinks is the greatest film of all time. Screen Rant reports that the legendary director sys Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film "The Godfather" was the greatest movie of all time. In fact, it was so good that it shook his confidence as a director and almost made him not want to become one, according to Spielberg. A few years later though, "Jaws" came out and Spielberg's career took off. He, like Coppola, is part of the New Hollywood group of directors who brought filmmaking into the modern era.

Finally, a pair of tennis fans have got engaged in the stands before Alex de Minaur and Lorenzo Musetti's Round of 16 match in the Madrid Open. It brings a whole new meaning to "love game"!

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