Russia Plague Global Fears, Violent French Protests, Three Years After Oct 7th

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0:10 This is the Bloomberg Daybreak Europe podcast. Good morning. It's Wednesday, the 7th of October. I'm Caroline Hepke in London. Coming up today, a suspected Russian plague case raises global health fears as hundreds are reportedly placed under observation. More than 250,000 join French protests as violence flares and political pressure grows. Plus, Israel marks three years since the Hamas attack with commemorations under heightened security as a diplomatic dispute with Britain deepens.

0:40 Let's start with a roundup of our top stories. International concern is growing over the unexplained death of a worker at a Russian anti-plague laboratory in Siberia. China says that it is cooperating closely with Moscow on infectious disease prevention, including plague. However, Russian authorities say that no case of the plague has been detected and describe the worker's severe pneumonia.

1:03 as being of unknown origin. The World Health Organization says it is seeking more information from Moscow, while the EU says that it is monitoring developments very closely.

1:13 U.S.

1:14 Secretary of State Marco Rubio says getting clarity from Russia is proving difficult.

1:20 We encourage Russia to be transparent and share more information with the world so that all of us could react accordingly and appropriately. But we'll have to make those decisions on the basis of the information that we're learning and are being provided. And so far, that's still quite limited.

1:35 Marco Rubio there, as President Trump says that he expects to speak to Vladimir Putin about the case very soon. Student-led protests in France have drawn over 250,000 demonstrators demanding more money for education. Hundreds of high schools were closed yesterday as teachers' unions joined the movement, which sometimes turned violent.

1:55 Bloomberg's Julien Pantheus says the unrest is spreading.

1:59 You can see students here, high school students, university students. It's spreading to universities. You have farmers getting into it. You have mainstream national unions getting into it.

2:15 Our Paris-based reporter, Julien Ponthus, there. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu says that more than 200 students have been injured, as well as 85 teachers and over 700 police officers since demonstrations began. The news comes as worries over the country's political and fiscal future have sparked a sharp sell-off in financial assets. French bond futures are underperforming German equivalents in Asia hours. Students' unions, meanwhile, are calling for continuing blockades of high schools in France today. Israel is warning of an increased threat against its citizens on the third anniversary of October 7th. The Hamas attacks, which killed more than 1,200 people, were the deadliest day in the country's history

2:59 and triggered the war in Gaza. Israel's response has led to a fraying of ties with many allies. And there are reports today of a growing dispute between the UK and Israel. Bloomberg's UK reporter James Walcock has more.

3:12 Last month, the UK led a coalition to sanction illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. In response, Israel said it would close the British consulate in East Jerusalem. Now, outlets in the UK and Israeli press are reporting Britain made a last-ditch attempt to change Tel Aviv's mind. They say the UK warned if the consulate were closed down, Britain might retaliate by expelling a number of diplomats from the Israeli embassy in London. Throwing out diplomats is an action normally reserved for adversaries, not allies. The fractious relationship between the two once firm allies speaks to Israel's increasingly isolated place on the world stage.

3:49 In London, James Woolcock, Bloomberg Radio.

3:52 The UK-Israel relationship is facing another potential source of tension, this time over aviation security. The Telegraph newspaper reports that the co-pilot, accused of trying to crash a fly-by-flight bound for Tel Aviv, trained at a UK flight school. The attempted hijacking has become a flashpoint in Israel's election campaign, with opposition leaders focusing on security failures. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to the pilot who averted the hijack. with video of their conversation being released by his office.

4:26 You are a true hero of the brave peoples of India and Israel, and you are a hero of the entire world. I wish you a very speedy and complete recovery.

4:39 Benjamin Netanyahu there, who has also ordered a review of security surrounding foreign airlines flying to Israel. Oil remains stubbornly above $ 100 a barrel as his traders' way increased flows through the Strait of Hormuz against an uptick in Iranian attacks on vessels. The UK's Maritime Trade Operations has reported at least nine attacks in the waterway already this month.

5:02 Here's Bloomberg's Stuart Livingston-Wallace.

5:04 So this comes at a time when the volume through Hormuz really is picking up. We're not quite sure just how many barrels are getting through, but all the indicators are that it's getting pretty close now to pre-war level. So in terms of immediate supply to the market, that's a big positive. I think the continuing issue here and why we remain above $ 100 a barrel is that ongoing risk.

5:25 So long as missiles and drones are flying over that waterway, I think the market's going to be very reluctant to believe that everything is back to normal.

5:32 It clearly isn't.

5:33 Our head of Middle East and North Africa coverage, Stuart Livingston-Wallace. It comes as leading oil executives, including the CEO of Shell, have warned of dwindling buffers and stockpiles to manage the crisis. Soaring diesel prices are also squeezing farmers around the world. The concern is that higher costs could eventually feed through into food prices. Here is Bloomberg's Ewan Potts reporting.

5:56 Wars in Iran and Ukraine have disrupted fuel supplies just as major farming regions enter crucial harvest and planting seasons. In Britain, one major producer says its annual diesel bill has jumped by 40%. Farmers in Australia, meanwhile, are paying over 50% more for diesel, while Brazilian growers warn shortages could delay soybean planting. And with global food prices already at their highest since 2022, there are concerns that higher energy bills could feed through to prices for consumers.

6:27 In London, I'm Ewan Potts, Bloomberg Radio. SpaceX is looking to borrow $ 40 billion from banks and investors to buy NVIDIA chips. It could be one of the biggest AI debt deals ever. Sources tell Bloomberg that PIMCO is among the firms looking at the deal, but talks remain at an early stage. The Financial Times says that Apollo is leading the financing, with the deal expected to close in 2027.

6:52 JP Morgan is in the lead as the world's most advanced bank when it comes to artificial intelligence, and it is widening its lead over rivals. Capital One came in second in an annual AI banking index, which found that industry-wide AI deployment is accelerating at a record pace. JP Morgan's CEO and chairman, Jamie Dimon, told Bloomberg that the technology has vast potential.

7:17 And it is a very positive sign of tech's ability to expand its diaspora.

7:21 It's not just Silicon Valley anymore. It's everywhere.

7:24 So that is a very good sign.

7:25 And a lot of these companies, they're real. They're going to invent things that help mankind for hundreds of years.

7:30 That was Jamie Darman, who did also warn that there are growing dangers in the sector. The CEO says that Anthropic's Mythos AI model has increased global cybersecurity risks tenfold. So, those are a few of our top stories for you today. Let's look at the markets. Asia stocks are slipping. MSCI Asia Pacific Index down 0.7%. This as we see stock futures for Europe down 0.6%. And S & P 500 E-mini futures are positive. The S & P 500 did manage to grind to a new high joining the Nasdaq.

8:03 Treasuries are falling as oil this morning is up by 0.9% for Brent crude futures, $ 101. 50 the barrel now. German 10-year bund yields will start trading at 3.478% today with, of course, France's fiscal situation really dominating the macro themes in markets today. That is a look at where we are, though, in markets.

8:24 In a moment, it's one of the most feared diseases, plague. We're going to bring you the latest on the reaction around the world to this suspected case in Russia and also Israel's election as the country marks three years since the Hamas attack. but before that another story that caught my attention well it's jaguar fighting back with a new 130 000 pound electric car yes they're all the luxury makers they're bringing out electric vehicles jaguars is now uh come out it's called the type one and it is their first new model get this in eight years the company basically almost went dark in terms of production um It was the go-to car for British prime ministers, but now they are targeting younger car buyers. And you can

9:12 look at the mock-up on YouTube, which I went and did have a look at. Quite sleek, button-free, obviously. It gets quite mixed comments, though, if you look below the video. Some say beautiful, reminiscent of the original Batmobile high-class. Others, generic modern Chinese EV, boring and a lot lamenting Jaguar's pasts.

9:32 The main question is who's going to buy it? I mean, look, I've got to reminisce a little bit about the E-Type, perhaps one of the most beautiful cars ever made. You still see a few of them on the road today in London. And then the images of Thatcher, of course, the British Prime Minister in one of those sleek Jaguar E-Series, kind of long and low and almost prowling. But that's in the past, isn't it? Andy Burnham, the new UK Prime Minister, arrived in Downing Street in the British-built Range Rover.

10:02 It's cool, but it's pretty hulking, isn't it? So let's see if the new Jag does find the younger customer with that 130 grand price tag. I mean, the Ferrari Luce was equally controversial. Or does start early next year. You can read about it on the Bloomberg website about the Jaguar Type 1 today. Now, healthcare concerns are intensifying around the world about a suspected case of pneumonic plague, this in Siberia. But Russian authorities have told the World Health Organization that no case of plague has been recorded.

10:36 Jason Gale is our senior editor and biosecurity correspondent and joins us now. Jason, good to speak to you. What do we actually know about the death of the 28-year-old laboratory worker in Russia that has triggered all of these fears?

10:52 Yeah, sadly not enough, Caroline.

10:54 So we know a 28-year-old worker at an infectious disease research institute in Siberia developed severe pneumonia and died about five days ago. Russian media have tied the death to a possible accidental exposure to Yersinia pestis. That's the bacteria that causes plague, but that remains unverified. Russian authorities have denied any such lab accident, and have said no testing testing found no pathogen associated with her work and the cause remains pneumonia of unknown origin some 200 contacts were reportedly identified russia says their medical observation is complete and no high threat pathogens were detected but we still don't know what killed her. The WHO, the World Health Organization, is also seeking information about reports of a second institute

11:47 employee with unexplained pneumonia, Caroline.

11:50 Oh, okay. What is the fear here, Jason? Is it biological weapons? Is it because we've seen a pandemic recently? Because actually, the plague can be treated these days.

12:04 Well, yes, probably all of those things. Pneumonic plague is still extremely serious. As you say, it is readily treatable with antibiotics, but without treatment, it progresses rapidly and can spread between people through respiratory particles. It generally requires close contact with someone who's sick and symptoms usually emerge within one to three days. The absence here of any confirmed secondary cases is reassuring. The Soviet Union had a biological weapons program that included Yersinia pestis, which adds sensitivity to an unexplained death at this institute. There's no public evidence connecting this case to a biological weapons research program, though.

12:50 But as you say, the pandemic experience matters too. Governments are understandably alert to an unexplained severe respiratory illness associated with a laboratory handling dangerous pathogens.

13:01 Yeah.

13:02 Okay.

13:03 So that's quite a lot to think about. And the US, China and the EU are all looking at this, as is the World Health Organization. What are they saying?

13:11 Well, the World Health Organization formally sought information from Russia under the international health regulations. Russia says no plague case has been registered, contacts were tested and monitored, and no high threat pathogen was detected among them.

13:26 The WHO still wants.

13:27 To know what caused the woman's pneumonia and what pathogen prompted the public health measures. As I said before, it's also seeking clarification about a reported second employee with pneumonia of an undetermined cause. So the international message is cautious. Officials are monitoring the situation and seeking more information.

13:46 Dr.

13:46 Tedros, the WHO's director general, has specifically called for timely, complete and transparent information sharing, Caroline.

13:55 Yeah, okay. And in terms of the other concerns that people have, I suppose, what is the response also in Russia? I mean, they have a history of having these labs that have investigated plague. Why is that?

14:15 Well, plague is present endemic in parts of Siberia. It's carried in rodents and the fleas that live on the rodents and occasionally spills over to infect humans. So Russia has had a program to identify and treat cases and to prevent them. And so it's understandable that Russia does have institutes like the one we're talking about in place to do this work.

14:44 Jason, thank you so much for being with us. Jason Gale is Senior Editor and Biosecurity Correspondent. Thank you for joining us. Now, you can read Jason's latest explainer, what to know about suspected plague case in Siberia for more details and all of his reporting is on the Bloomberg website now. Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Daybreak Europe coming up after this. Now, Israel is marking three years since the Hamas attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned of an increased threat of attacks against Israelis and Jews aboard and amid growing international isolation. Dan Williams joins us now from Jerusalem. Dan, good to speak to you. How has October 7th reshaped Israel politics and security really across

15:36 the region on this third anniversary?

15:39 Good morning, Caroline. Yes, third anniversary, as you noted.

15:42 Solemn, perhaps even more solemn than the previous anniversaries, despite their proximity to the event itself. I think largely because the war has been mostly fought. Major combat operations have for now abated. It's left room for more introspection. And of course, we are only days ahead of an Israeli election, which will be impacted, shaped by by public opinion on October 7th and the war that followed and the Prime Minister Netanyahu's handling of all those events.

16:15 In terms of the more.

16:16 General Israeli approach, there is no doubt and I think even members of the opposition across the spectrum would agree that Israel's approach now is to be far more forthright, far more aggressive against growing threats, intolerant of threats on its borders. There is an anger in what is seen in retrospect of having been a containment of Hamas, of Hezbollah, those Iranian-backed groups to Israel's south and north, which allowed Hamas to attack Israel, to blindside it three years ago, and Hezbollah to join in the following day. So Israelis, while they may have some score settling with their prime minister and his political camp, in this election, I think in general, their approach to national security is fairly uniform

17:07 and unified.

17:08 What is the situation in Gaza and the West Bank?

17:12 Gaza has been reduced to.

17:15 Effectively a demarcation of some 63% controlled by the Israeli military with an almost entire absence of Palestinian civilians there.

17:25 Meanwhile, the Israeli military has been setting.

17:27 About destroying Hamas tunnels that was used very effectively by Hamas during that war. Some 2 million Palestinians congregated concentrated in very difficult conditions in the some 30% still under Hamas control. And of course, there's gonna be no progress on an international plan championed by President Trump for rehabilitation, reconstruction there, as long as Hamas does not disarm. So the big question is whether that will be done consensually.

17:57 There's been a year now of negotiations on that or whether Israel will follow through on its threat to resume the war to finish the job.

18:05 As it would put it.

18:06 In the West Bank, the West Bank hasn't seen violence like Gaza. Nonetheless, it is another territory where the Palestinians want independence. There has been friction there. Much of the friction has been from renegade Israeli settlers.

18:20 The Israeli prime.

18:21 Minister say they number in the few hundred, a couple hundred, he said 150 at a speech at the UN. I don't think that really adds up to what we've observed in the field. And oftentimes this sparks off confrontations with Palestinians that bring in the military.

18:36 So while the situation.

18:38 There is not as parlous, not economically, not in terms of security as the Gaza Strip is, Palestinians in general have seen their national prospects plummet since October 7th, since that attack by Hamas, a Palestinian group. And Israel is also watching its other borders, as you noted. It still has a open conflict, shall we say, with Iran, having launched a war there in February with the United States.

19:04 It's not clear how that will conclude. For now, the Israelis are holding fire there and letting the Americans lead that campaign, while at the same time, Israel has been at slightly lower tilt fighting Hezbollah, that Iranian-backed militia in Lebanon to its north. So many fronts still active, much still unknown. The Israeli prime minister already with the longest serving tenure of any Israeli prime ministers wants another one.

19:32 And he says he's the man to lead Israel into this latest spool. The big question is, do Israelis perceive him as the Chamberlain, as it were, who brought about October 7th, or the Churchill who allowed them and led them out of October 7th to really a redefinition of Israel's position in the Middle East, a more aggressive posture, and I think at least on the ground, an improved security position.

19:57 Okay.

19:58 What is happening, though, in the election campaign? As you say, I mean, there are significant opposition parties and voices campaigning ahead of the vote on the 27th of October. And then you must layer into that, too, the fly Dubai hijacking, which also appears to have become a flashpoint now in that political campaign, too.

20:20 Indeed, it's a very, very interesting tilt there because we had a few days of understandable celebration. The fainting of those passengers, those mainly four Israeli civilians on the plane who took matters into their own hands to ensure that it wasn't hijacked, prevented potentially a 9-11 style attack on Israel, on its main airport, potentially even in Jordan, had that been the target, the intended target of the attempted hijacker here. However, what has emerged is is that while the United Arab Emirates still have much of a public accounting to give as to how they hired or how this airline of theirs hired this pilot, these Israelis who are very famous or supposedly famous for screening incoming traffic of all kinds

21:06 apparently also failed to notice that this man sitting at the controls of the plane had apparently a history of jihadi sympathies. Now, the woman in charge of Israel's transport minister is a Likud stalwart, a senior member of Netanyahu's ruling party. And some, especially in the opposition, are saying that this recalls the situation on October 7th, three years ago, when the Israeli state, the Israeli government, were really helpless to anticipate this. to prevent, to rectify what was a massacre of unprecedented scale in Israel, leaving it to really a groundswell of civilian action to try to stanch that open wound. Many civilians responding, seizing weapons, going in on their own accord, coordinating defensive strategies in their villages and

21:55 their towns, in their homes. And some are comparing this to what happened just last week with the hijacking, where apparently you had a failure of stabilization security agencies, but thanks to some resourceful and brave members of that cabin, the disaster was averted. So yes, that is something that I think Netanyahu will want to think twice about celebrating now, at least until there's a full public accounting. as to what exactly happened, how this man was hired as a pilot for that fly Dubai plane. And yes, October 7th is weighing on everyone's minds. It's interesting that his party has issued a moratorium on any public comment for these commemorations.

22:38 I don't think Netanyahu wants someone speaking off the cuff or saying something insensitive.

22:43 So really insensitive.

22:44 So really what we're seeing now is opposition figures who are focusing on this, the lessons learned. And of course, they'd like the main lesson That's learned is that Netanyahu should not be allowed another term in office.

22:56 In terms of what is happening between the UK and Israel, look, a number of foreign governments, it must be said, have accused Israel of genocide in Gaza. This is a charge that Israel vehemently denies and rejects. But Israel is more isolated on the world stage. What do you make of the latest row, this time over a consulate, specifically between the UK and Israel? Is it sort of symbolic of that greater isolation of Israel?

23:29 It certainly is, and it would appear that Britain under this government is spearheading Western efforts to pressure Israel diplomatically through sanctions. This was a long brewing conflict we had a year ago, British recognition of Palestine in the entirety of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Which of course immediately renders in terms of British laws, in terms of British scrutiny, Israeli settlements in those territories as illegal.

23:54 So it wasn't a surprise just a month ago when Britain followed up with sanctions against those settlements. A very vehement and directed diplomatic campaign against Israel's policies in the West Bank. And indeed its policies in the Gaza Strip, although there are no Israeli settlements there. But as you noted, Israel's war conduct has really been scrutinized internationally. So yes, the Brits have decided to spearhead this campaign. The Israelis are pushing back. It's basically an extension of their military strategy.

24:26 They say they're no longer going to take this sort of criticism seriously. And they're willing, and apparently we'll see it tomorrow, to shut down Britain's consulate in Jerusalem. It's worth remembering that a consulate in Jerusalem, given that many countries, including Britain, do not accept Israel's claim on Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Effectively, over the years, those countries that have had consulates there, those consulates have functioned de facto, if not de jure, as those countries' embassies to the Palestinians, to a future Palestine which would want also its capital in Jerusalem. So the Israelis have long seen this as an asymmetrical treatment of the holy city in terms of effectively giving the Palestinians a de facto diplomatic foothold in

25:10 the eyes of those countries while denying it to Israel. So I don't think there's gonna be any tears shed about the planned closure of that consulate.

25:18 But there are rumors we're hearing that.

25:21 They're not fully baked and they haven't actually been made. It would appear to be perhaps a steer or a diplomatic trial balloon through the media.

25:28 That the British are willing to.

25:30 Respond to Israel's planned closure of the consulate with a expulsion of up to dozens of Israeli diplomats from London. So certainly the situation is not good in bilateral ties, but the Israelis have much more to worry about because this is a harbinger of what we might see from other Western European countries and indeed from Canada that has very volubly been joining with these European countries in this diplomatic campaign of recent months against the Israelis.

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