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treasure of aztec bg India's former prime minister Manmohan Singh, architect of economic reforms, dies at 92Croatia's President Zoran Milanovic will face conservative rival Dragan Primorac in an election run-off in two weeks' time after the incumbent narrowly missed out an outright victory on Sunday, official results showed. The results came after an exit poll, released immediately after the polling stations closed, showed that Milanovic, backed by the opposition left-wing Social Democrats, had scooped more than 50 percent of the first round vote and would thus avoid the January 12 run-off. Milanovic won 49.1 percent of the first round vote and Primorac, backed by the ruling conservative HDZ party, took 19.35 percent, according to results released by the state electoral commission from nearly all of the polling stations. On Sunday evening, Milanovic pledged to his supporters who gathered in Zagreb to "fight for Croatia with a clear stance, one that takes care of its interests". Such a strong lead for Milanovic, whom surveys labelled a favourite ahead of the vote, raises serious concerns for Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic's HDZ. Late on Sunday, Primorac labelled the big difference between him and Milanovic a "challenge". "In the first round there were... a lot of candidates, it was not easy to present the programme fully. Now it's a great opportunity that Milanovic and I be one on one... to see who represents what," Primorac told his supporters in Zagreb. The election came as the European Union and NATO member country of 3.8 million people struggles with biting inflation, widespread corruption and a labour shortage. Among the eight contenders, centre-right MP Marija Selak Raspudic and green-left MP Ivana Kekin followed the two main rivals, the exit poll showed. The two women each won around nine percent of the vote. The president commands the Balkan country's armed forces and has a say in foreign policy. But despite limited powers, many believe the office is key for the political balance of power in a country mainly governed by the HDZ since independence in 1991. "All the eggs should not be in one basket," Nenad Horvat, a salesman in his 40s, told AFP. He sees Milanovic, a former leftist prime minister, as the "last barrier to all levers of power falling into the hands of HDZ", echoing the view of many that was reflected in Sunday's vote results. The 58-year-old Milanovic has been one of Croatia's leading and most colourful political figures for nearly two decades. Sharp and eloquent, he won the presidency for the Social Democrats (SDP) in 2020 with pledges to advocate tolerance and liberalism. But he used the office to attack political opponents and EU officials, often with offensive and populist rhetoric. Milanovic, who condemned Russia's aggression against Ukraine, has nonetheless criticised the West's military aid to Kyiv. That prompted the prime minister to label him a pro-Russian who is "destroying Croatia's credibility in NATO and the EU". Milanovic countered that he wanted to protect Croatia from being "dragged into war". Milanovic regularly pans Plenkovic and his HDZ party over systemic corruption, calling the premier a "serious threat to Croatia's democracy". Speaking on Sunday, Milanovic said that in the current global situation, all political stakeholders in the country should be "on the same side as much as possible, at least when it comes to fundamental issues such as the national security or borders". For many, the election is a continuation of the longstanding feud between two powerful politicians. "This is still about the conflict between the prime minister and president," political analyst Zarko Puhovski told AFP. "All the rest are just incidental topics." Primorac, a 59-year-old physician and scientist returning to politics after 15 years, campaigned as a "unifier" promoting family values and patriotism. ljv/bcJHVEPhoto TSMC's ( NYSE: TSM ) stock had a good run throughout most of 2024, but 2025 could be greatly different. Although the company reported great numbers during the latest earnings call, the rise of geopolitical risks and the gradual normalization of Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. 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By Hanna Webster, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS) It wasn’t a surprise when President-elect Donald Trump announced his plan to appoint Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary to the Department of Health and Human Services , but the news put many in the medical community on alert — watching to see how the nominee’s rhetoric will affect his approach to leading the key federal agency. The enormity of the new role — the HHS secretary oversees 13 federal agencies and their combined $1.7 trillion budget — will hand over a significant amount of responsibility for the nation’s health to Kennedy, who has limited applicable experience in the field and a history of promoting debunked health conspiracy theories as well as being a vaccine skeptic. Concern over Kennedy’s statements about vaccines has already begun to stir opposition to the appointment. Nearly 14,000 physicians have signed a petition objecting to the nominee. The petition, led by a nonprofit, The Committee to Protect Health Care, has a goal of 15,000 signatures. “Many physicians are looking at this and thinking, ‘We’re going to watch the destruction of the public health system,’” said Alice Rothchild, a Seattle-based retired ob-gyn who was one of those to sign. While public questioning of Western science, pharmaceutical industries and even vaccines is certainly not new, the spotlight placed on those who oppose vaccines has grown brighter in recent years — especially as the COVID-19 pandemic became politicized and public health measures, like social distancing and masking, received criticism among some groups. And as trust in science declines, some are turning toward fringe beliefs, many that RFK Jr. himself has supported, such as trusting herd immunity over vaccination or experimental and debunked treatments like ivermectin. Why was RFK Jr. chosen? In a Nov. 14 emailed statement announcing the nomination, Trump said the Department of Health and Human Services plays an important role in ensuring the health of the nation, including “that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming health crisis in this country. “Mr. Kennedy will restore these agencies to the traditions of gold standard scientific research, and beacons of transparency, to end the chronic disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again !” The statement seems to suggest that Trump chose Kennedy explicitly because of his nontraditional approaches. Is RFK Jr. equipped for the role of health secretary? George Benjamine, a physician and the executive director of the American Public Health Association, responded with a Nov. 18 statement that Kennedy “fails on all fronts” to effectively lead HHS. Certainly, it’s a big job. The nation’s health secretary is in charge of preparing for and responding to medical and public health emergencies, such as circulating infectious diseases. The position also controls funding to agencies under the HHS umbrella, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, the latter of which oversees thousands of clinical trials and the research and development of drug treatments. The Senate will vote on many of Trump’s cabinet nominees once the new president is sworn in. Historically, it is rare for nominees to be rejected. More: What are brain worms and how could RFK Jr. have gotten one? A half-dozen medical experts interviewed for this story pointed to Kennedy’s dogged criticism of vaccines throughout his career, including falsely stating that vaccines cause autism. The one paper that had linked MMR vaccines to autism was retracted by the journal that published it 12 years later, and the scientist was stripped of his medical license after results were found to be fraudulent and fabricated. Other debunked health claims made by Kennedy include that human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, is not the cause for AIDS, and that raw milk is safe to drink. While it is sold in Pennsylvania , the FDA has stated that raw milk is not safe because it may contain dangerous bacteria that are typically killed during the pasteurization process. Requests for comment on Kennedy’s nomination from members of the GOP Doctors Caucus, including former co-chair house Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), Brian Babin (R-Tex.) and John Joyce (R-Pa.), were not returned. In a Nov. 15 post on X, Harris congratulated Kennedy on the nomination and said he looked forward to working with him “in the fight to reform nutritious foods.” Spokespeople for Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment. But many of those with concerns aren’t shy about raising their issues. “This is a time when we need the highest level of competence possible at HHS,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and a professor of pediatrics and molecular biology, who has spent his career developing vaccines for tropical diseases. Hotez has communicated with Kennedy directly over the years, he said, as the two have been embroiled in online debates. “From my experience with him, he doesn’t have any interest in the science. He has trouble understanding the science, and he comes to the table with preconceived and dug-in notions,” Dr. Hotez said. “I don’t see him willing to adapt.” Where does RFK Jr. stand on other key health issues? Kennedy has spent his career as an environmental lawyer and has defended against large corporations including Monsanto, which seems to have informed his promises to focus on environmental exposure to chemicals, food additives and chronic disease. Among the positions that he has advocated for are removing artificial dye from foods and ending fluoride in water supplies. The European Union bans some food additives that are allowed in the U.S. and requires warning labels on many artificial dyes — although research indicates that fluoride doesn’t fall in that category. In cities where water is fluoridated, it has been shown to protect against dental decay. Kennedy has also criticized ultraprocessed foods, and chemicals such as high-fructose corn syrup, calling them culprits for record-high obesity rates and chronic disease, stances many physicians believe he is right to criticize. Is a medical background needed for the job? Many past HHS secretaries have not had medical backgrounds, although they often had experience overseeing large organizations and hefty budgets. Tommy Thompson, HHS secretary between 2001 and 2005, was governor of Wisconsin for nearly two decades and chair of the National Governors Association. Alex Azar, in the role from 2018 to 2021, had been president of the U.S. division of global pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, as well as general counsel and deputy secretary to the health secretary over many years. What’s unprecedented about Kennedy’s nomination is that he is “a person who avowedly wants to destroy one of humans’ greatest inventions: vaccines,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a Pittsburgh-based physician and senior scholar with Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Epidemiologists are especially worried about Kennedy’s penchant for sowing distrust in vaccine research . “His role there is not going to be to promote health, but to destroy health,” said Adalja. “We have the exact opposite of what you would want in a health secretary in RFK Jr.” Kennedy has stated in the past that, if he were in this role, he would fire hundreds of scientists, remove entire departments and divert attention and resources away from infectious disease research. “We’re going to take a break from infectious disease for about eight years,” he said at an anti-vaccine conference in Georgia in 2023, NBC reported. Kennedy started the foundation Children’s Health Defense in 2018, a nonprofit that states, according to its website, to “restore and protect the health of children by eliminating environmental exposures, holding responsible parties accountable, and establishing safeguards to prevent future harm of children’s health.” The Instagram and Facebook accounts of the nonprofit were temporarily banned in August 2022 for posting misinformation about vaccines. More on politics After disavowing Project 2025, Trump hires people who worked on it Judge delays sentencing Trump for his hush-money case conviction Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws Incumbent Bob Casey concedes Pennsylvania Senate race to Dave McCormick

Jimmy Carter, the 39th U.S. president, has died at 100U.S. stocks rose to records after data suggested the job market remains solid enough to keep the economy going, but not so strong that it raises immediate worries about inflation. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2%, just enough top the all-time high set on Wednesday, as it closed a third straight winning week in what looks to be one of its best years since the 2000 dot-com bust. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.8% to set its own record. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.