I took the antibiotic and probiotic for 5 days and have had no improvement in this persistent cough. It worried me, thinking it might lead to pneumonia. That would be the worst scenario. It would necessitate putting Joan in some facility while I would be hospitalized.
Last night, I scheduled an appointment with the same doctor for 13:00 (1 PM) today. We were on time and went right into her office. I told her I needed a different antibiotic because the one she gave me didn't help at all. She checked my lungs and temperature and prescribed Amosiklav as the new antibiotic. I'm to take it twice a day for 7 days. I hope this one works.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine--Trouble.
President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a new government without appointing a defense minister after the planned dismissal of reformist Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. As Ukrainians take to the streets, members of parliament resist backing a replacement, and thousands demand greater transparency and continued defense reforms, the political standoff has raised questions about whether Ukraine can avoid a deeper political crisis while fighting a full-scale war.
Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada has approved a new government, with a new cabinet of ministers headed by former Naftogaz CEO Serhiy Koretsky. However, the government was approved with one major caveat: it was incomplete. It lacked both a foreign minister and, most importantly, a defense minister. These two positions fall under the president of Ukraine’s constitutional quota, meaning the president must personally nominate them to parliament.
President Volodymyr Zelensky did not nominate anyone today. As a result, Ukraine now has a government without its most important minister.
Why does this matter?
Why have people taken to the streets and what happens next?
Fedorov’s name is the one that matters
As of the afternoon of July 15, the reshuffle appeared straightforward. The plan was to replace Mykhailo Fedorov – the reform-minded minister who had launched transparent procurement, certification, and quality-control reforms at the Ministry of Defense, infuriating the military bureaucracy. Taking his place would be Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, who, while not a military officer himself, at least had experience leading a major ministry.
Days earlier, rumors of Fedorov’s possible dismissal had already sparked widespread disappointment among Ukraine’s expert community.
The young minister had no obvious failures or major mistakes to his name. On the contrary, Ukraine had dramatically expanded drone procurement, introduced an electronic points system rewarding soldiers for destroying enemy targets, provided unprecedented support to dedicated drone units that were able to clear entire sections of the front, and shifted toward systematic deep-strike and medium-range strike campaigns that inflicted serious damage on Russian forces and helped Ukraine regain the initiative.
These developments gave Ukrainians hope after two difficult years and the harshest winter of the war – that military fortunes were finally beginning to turn in Ukraine’s favor once again.
The potential dismissal of the popular reformist minister felt like a bitter betrayal of that hope. But the longer events unfolded, the clearer it became that Fedorov’s energetic reform efforts within the entrenched ministry bureaucracy appeared to be the most likely reason for his removal.Source-Kyiv Post
