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Brazil’s single day COVID-19 death tally rose above 3,000 for the first time as citizens of the South American nation staged protests demanding President Jair Bolsonaro take action to curtail the spread of the virus. The lion share of Tuesday’s record 3,251 deaths occurred in its most populous state of Sao Paulo, with 1,021 new deaths. During a national address Tuesday, protesters across the nation banged pots to express anger at the government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Speaking to the nation, Bolsonaro expressed condolences for the lives lost, but once again said the virus will soon pass.  Bolsonaro, who has rejected restrictions imposed by local leaders said that by the end of the year, Brazil will have more than 500 million doses to inoculate all the population, saying 2021 will be the year of Brazilians’ vaccination.Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro celebrates his 66th birthday with supporters at the Alvorada Palace, the official presidential residence, in Brasilia, Brazil, March 21, 2021.He also predicted the people of the South American country will soon return to a normal life.  However, Bolsonaro’s history in dealing with the more than year old pandemic doesn’t appear to have generated much confidence among citizens. Bolsonaro, who became infected with the virus last year, has consistently downplayed the seriousness of COVID-19, saying restrictions in the business sector to curtail the spread of the virus has been bad for the economy. Brazil continues to lead Latin America with more than 12,000,000 infections and 295,425 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University Covid Resource Center. 
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The European Commission’s proposal to create a health passport to facilitate safe, free movement inside the EU during the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic could be a solution to save the tourism industry in parts of southern Europe this summer.  But with the vaccine rollout off to a slow start and the infection rates going up across Europe, few are hoping for a recovery soon. Jonathan Spier narrates this report by Alfonso Beato in Barcelona.
Camera: Alfonso Beato, Filip Huygens   
Producer:   Jon Spier 
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to outline in a speech Wednesday in Brussels a commitment by the Biden administration to rebuild and revitalize U.S. alliances. That has been part of his message during his first visit to the region as the top U.S. diplomat this week, showing a departure from four years of foreign policy under former President Donald Trump that focused on prioritizing U.S. interests. The address comes on the final day of a two-day NATO ministerial meeting, during which Blinken is holding a number of sideline talks with his counterparts. Wednesday’s schedule includes separate talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, a session with the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as meetings with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. Blinken told reporters Tuesday the United States wants to rebuild its partnerships, “first and foremost with our NATO allies.”U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, rear center, waits for the start of a round table meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, March 23, 2021.The White House said U.S. President Joe Biden plans to discuss boosting U.S.-EU relations during a videoconference with EU leaders on Thursday. Biden’s stance is a marked contrast to that of former President Donald Trump, who frequently assailed other NATO countries for not meeting the alliance’s goal that each country spend the equivalent of 2% of the size of its national economy on defense.    “The last thing we can afford to do is take this alliance for granted,” Blinken, a longtime Biden confidant, said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian welcomed Blinken’s favorable comments about NATO, which was founded in 1949 to contain a military threat from the then-Soviet Union.    One of the major topics for discussion during two days of meetings in Brussels is the NATO mission in Afghanistan, as a May 1 deadline approaches for the full withdrawal of all U.S. troops under a peace agreement made last year between Afghanistan’s Taliban and the Trump administration.  Blinken said the situation is under review, and that part of his work in Brussels would be conferring with NATO allies, both to listen and to share U.S. thinking. He said whatever the United States decides to do, its actions will be with the consultation of other member countries that have been a part of the military mission.    “We went in together, we have adjusted together, and when the time is right, we’ll leave together,” Blinken said.  NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he welcomes the peace effort, stressing it is the “only path to a lasting political solution in Afghanistan.” But the NATO chief said that in order to achieve peace, all parties must negotiate in good faith, there needs to be a reduction of violence, and the Taliban must stop supporting international terrorists such as al-Qaida.  German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned against a premature pullout that would undercut security gains.  “We want a conditions-based withdrawal of all forces from Afghanistan,” Maas said. 
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Brazil’s single day COVID-19 death tally rose above 3,000 for the first time as citizens of the South American nation staged protests demanding President Jair Bolsonaro take action to curtail the spread of the virus. The lion share of Tuesday’s record 3,251 deaths occurred in its most populous state of Sao Paulo, with 1,021 new deaths. During a national address Tuesday, protesters across the nation banged pots to express anger at the government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Speaking to the nation, Bolsonaro expressed condolences for the lives lost, but once again said the virus will soon pass.  Bolsonaro, who has rejected restrictions imposed by local leaders said that by the end of the year, Brazil will have more than 500 million doses to inoculate all the population, saying 2021 will be the year of Brazilians’ vaccination.Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro celebrates his 66th birthday with supporters at the Alvorada Palace, the official presidential residence, in Brasilia, Brazil, March 21, 2021.He also predicted the people of the South American country will soon return to a normal life.  However, Bolsonaro’s history in dealing with the more than year old pandemic doesn’t appear to have generated much confidence among citizens. Bolsonaro, who became infected with the virus last year, has consistently downplayed the seriousness of COVID-19, saying restrictions in the business sector to curtail the spread of the virus has been bad for the economy. Brazil continues to lead Latin America with more than 12,000,000 infections and 295,425 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University Covid Resource Center. 
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Haiti Soccer Federation officials are awaiting the decision of FIFA, the international governing body for football, on whether a Haiti-Belize World Cup qualifier will be held Thursday in Port-au-Prince.   Tessier Jeanty, communications director for the Haitian Soccer Federation (Federation Haitienne de Futbol, FHF), told VOA a FIFA security expert met with Haitian and Belize team officials Tuesday afternoon. The FIFA security expert arrived in Haiti Tuesday morning and toured the capital to evaluate the security situation after Belize’s team bus was held up at gunpoint on Monday. The incident happened as the team made its way from the Toussaint Louverture international airport to their hotel.Upon Belize’s ?? arrival to Haiti ?? for their World Cup Qualifier, their police escort was stopped by armed “insurgents”This is the video going around on social media.Match is set for March 25. Belize has put out an official statement. pic.twitter.com/B3Z0gTfW16— Nico Cantor (@Nicocantor1) March 23, 2021The athletes, who were not harmed in the incident, described the harrowing scene during an interview with a Belize television station. They said high-powered rifles were aimed at their bus.   “Suddenly, we saw so many motorcycles with a lot of men and they were armed. You know, they stopped the bus and all we see, they were talking to the police. After that, we wanted to know what was happening. The next, they wanted us to turn back, pointing their guns at the police. So we don’t know what to do,” recalled Ian “Yellow” Gaynair, who plays defense for the Belize national team. “Some of us were doing some video and they pointed on the bus and said cut out the video, so we had to cut the video, pull the curtain,” Gaynair said. “All of us were really traumatized, fearing we didn’t know what would happen. Next thing we thought they would even want to come on the bus.”   The armed men on motorbikes were members of a renegade group called Fantom 509, comprising disgruntled current and former police officers. The U.S. State Department described them as criminals on Twitter.#PortAuPrince#Haiti: The criminal organization known as Fantom 509 is currently active in Delmas and Petionville. The group is known for violence and the ability to relocate quickly. Avoid travel to these areas. Do not attempt to drive through roadblocks. https://t.co/NpUjSlG2zRpic.twitter.com/sD2yTib70O— Travel – State Dept (@TravelGov) March 22, 2021“The criminal organization known as Fantom 509 is currently active in Delmas and Petionville. The group is known for violence and the ability to relocate quickly. Avoid travel to these areas. Do not attempt to drive through roadblocks,” the U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Consular Affairs tweeted. Belize team official Marlon Kuylen immediately reported the incident to FIFA and CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football).“We’ve told them in no uncertain terms that we want to get our players out of the country. However, the match commissioner is arriving tomorrow to assess the situation and decide what happens from there,” Kuylen told the Belize television station. The Belize Football Federation later issued a statement expressing “disappointment and disgust.“Football Federation of Belize registers its anger & disappointment after its delegation was attacked by armed men in #Haiti en route from airport to hotel today. pic.twitter.com/2UUaSaawjP— Jacqueline Charles (@Jacquiecharles) March 23, 2021Kuylen said his players are having a hard time concentrating on the upcoming match. “The players, they are frazzled. They cannot focus on playing. We were supposed to go training … and they don’t want to leave the hotel,” he said. “Our security is not guaranteed and what if we win and the crowd gets out of control again, who’s to say that we will be safe?” Two officials from FHF went to check on the Belize players in the evening, according to a statement posted in French on its Facebook page. “Jacques Letang … and Yvon Sevère paid a visit of solidarity to team Belize to assure its members of that the FHF supports them,” the statement said. FIFA has not yet responded to VOA’s request for comment on the incident. The spike in violence in Haiti has alarmed both Haitian and international officials. Last week, Fantom 509 staged two jailbreaks, looted a car dealership and set fire to tires, blocking streets. Jeanty of FHF told VOA it is unfortunate that insecurity in the country, which has become a part of daily life for most Haitians, now risks jeopardizing the national team’s ability to play at home.   “Haiti already has some factors working against it and now this complicates things even further,” Jeanty said. As for Haiti’s beloved national team, most of the players, such as goalie Johny Placide, only began arriving in Port-au-Prince Tuesday morning. The majority currently play for European league teams. “They weren’t even aware of what happened yesterday,” Jeanty told VOA. “We have six players who arrived this morning. And we have three players arriving [Wednesday] — because they are traveling from Armenia. I’m talking about Donald Guerrier, Soni Mustivar and Alex Junior Christian. They are ready to win for Haiti, but it’s shocking for them to see the images of what happened [on Monday].” Jeanty told VOA the FIFA security expert, a former military official from Barbados, would send his report to FIFA and CONCACAF Tuesday night. “After the meeting, we will not know immediately whether or not the match will go on in Haiti. He will send a report to CONCACAF and FIFA and those officials will issue a statement based on what the report advises,” Jeanty said. In the meantime, Haiti’s soccer federation is appealing to the public to refrain from violence.   “Haitians must understand: if there is any kind of attack against this match, we can kiss Haiti soccer goodbye,” FHF secretary general Carlo Marcelin said in an interview with Haitian radio station Magik 9 Tuesday.   The World Cup is scheduled to be held in Qatar from November 21 to December 18, 2022. 
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Benjamin Briere is a French tourist who was arrested last May while visiting Iran with his drone and minivan. Still detained, he was charged with espionage and “spreading propaganda against the system.” His lawyers deny the charges.If found guilty, he could be sentenced to death.Briere’s case is the latest in a series against foreigners at a time of heightened tensions between Iran and the West over Iran’s nuclear activities.Bernard Hourcade is a geographer and Iran specialist.  He thinks that the cases against this French tourist and the 2019 arrest of the French Iranian academic, Fariba Adelkhah, are separate issues which would have no impact on the JCPOA talks or other negotiations between the two countries.France, along with Britain, Germany and the European Union, are trying to bring the United States and Iran to the table for informal talks as a first step toward reviving Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal — also known as JCPOA — which lifted international sanctions on the Islamic Republic in exchange for curbs to its nuclear program.Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 29, 2016, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Syria.However, tensions are growing over Teheran’s nuclear activities, and U.S Secretary of State Anthony Blinken last month said Iran is “heading in the wrong direction.” Jean-Yves Le Drian, France’s Foreign minister, echoed those concerns.Le Drian recently told a French Senate hearing that Iran’s nuclear activities were developing in violation of the Vienna agreement. The minister also added that Iran conducted attacks in Iraq and Saudi Arabia to destabilize those countries. So, it is crucial to start de-escalation to ease tensions, he added.A source with the French Foreign ministry told VOA the French government has been in regular contact with Briere. But French officials have stuck to their regular strategy of maintaining discretion when dealing with Iran in order to increase the chances of obtaining the release of their citizens.Analysts point to Iranian leaders’ history of using hostages to get what they want.Mohammad Reza Djalili is an honorary professor of international relations at the Geneva Graduate Institute.He describes the hostage situation in the U.S Embassy in Teheran in 1979 as the founding act for Iranian Islamic diplomacy. Djalili presents an Iranian policy to take Western hostages as a diplomatic weapon to release their own pro-regime citizens sentenced in France, Belgium and other countries. Iran seems very interested in dual citizens to gain leverage, according to Djalili.In this image released by the US State Department US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook welcomes Princeton graduate student Xiyue Wang on arrival in Switzerland after his release from Iran on Dec. 7, 2019. (Ho /US State Department/AFP)The most recent high-profile releases of foreign prisoners in Iran — of American Xiyue Wang in December 2019, American Michael White in March 2020 and Frenchman Roland Marchal, also in March — were all accompanied by the release of Iranians held abroad on sanctions-busting charges.The case highlights for Western countries the complexity of dealing with Iran. Analysts say European countries appear to have less leverage than the United States does.Hourcade said France has tried several times to bring together Iran and the United States and resume talks, but overall France and Europe are weak partners if neither Washington nor Teheran has the political will to act. Therefore, Europeans are waiting to see how the situation will evolve.The presidential election is scheduled for June 18 in Iran and many observers believe that no major negotiations could resume before the poll.  
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday the United States wants to rebuild its partnerships, “first and foremost with our NATO allies,” as he expressed the Biden administration’s “steadfast commitment” to the alliance. Blinken spoke to reporters in Brussels alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg before the two held talks ahead of the start of a NATO ministerial meeting later in the day.Stoltenberg said he welcomed the new U.S. administration’s approach, saying there is a “unique opportunity to start a new chapter in the transatlantic relationship.”U.S. President Joe Biden is planning to join a videoconference of European Union leaders on Thursday, a top EU official said, as part of the U.S. commitment to NATO.Biden’s stance is a marked contrast to that of former President Donald Trump, who frequently assailed other NATO countries for not meeting the alliance’s goal that each country spend the equivalent of 2% of the size of its national economy on defense.”The last thing we can afford to do is take this alliance for granted,” said Blinken, a longtime Biden confidant.French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian welcomed Blinken’s favorable comments about NATO, which was founded in 1949 to contain a military threat from the then-Soviet Union.One of the major topics for discussion during two days of meetings in Brussels is the NATO mission in Afghanistan, as a May 1 deadline approaches for the full withdrawal of all U.S. troops under a peace agreement made last year between Afghanistan’s Taliban and the Trump administration.Blinken said the situation is under review, and that part of his work in Brussels would be conferring with NATO allies, both to listen and to share U.S. thinking. He said whatever the United States decides to do, its actions will be with the consultation of other member countries that have been a part of the military mission.“We went in together, we have adjusted together, and when the time is right, we’ll leave together,” Blinken said.Stoltenberg said he welcomes the peace effort, stressing it is the “only path to a lasting political solution in Afghanistan.” But the NATO chief said that in order to achieve peace, all parties must negotiate in good faith, there needs to be a reduction of violence, and the Taliban must stop supporting international terrorists such as al-Qaida.NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg holds a news conference during a NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 23, 2021.German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned against a premature pullout that would undercut security gains.”We want a conditions-based withdrawal of all forces from Afghanistan,” Maas said.Blinken’s itinerary in Brussels also includes a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief. The State Department said agenda items include economic recovery efforts in response to the coronavirus pandemic and addressing “global challenges that come from Iran, Russia and China.”Regarding Iran, the top U.S. diplomat is expected to consult with EU colleagues about the prospects of the United States and Iran mutually returning to the agreement signed in 2015 that limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.Both the United States, which left the deal under Trump in 2018, and Iran, which responded by taking steps away from its commitments, have expressed a willingness to observe the agreement once again, but each has signaled the other side should act first.The final part of Blinken’s trip agenda is bilateral talks with Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sophie Wilmès.  
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The United States has expressed concern about the way the Chinese government is conducting the trial of two Canadians charged with espionage, according to a State Department spokesperson.“We remain deeply troubled by the lack of transparency surrounding the legal proceedings of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig,” Ned Price tweeted Tuesday. Entrepreneur Spavor and former diplomat Kovrig were both arrested on different occasions in December 2018 following the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of China’s Huawei Technologies, in Vancouver on a U.S. warrant.Meng remains under house arrest in Vancouver as she fights extradition. As a chief financial officer of Huawei — one of the world’s largest manufacturers of smartphones — Meng is accused of lying to U.S. officials about Huawei’s business in Iran, which is under U.S. sanctions.The arrests plunged relations between Ottawa and Beijing to their lowest levels in decades.FILE – A protester holds a sign calling for China to release Canadian detainees Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig outside a court hearing for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver, March 6, 2019.The espionage trial of Kovrig began Monday behind closed doors in Beijing, three days after Spavor was put on trial behind closed doors in the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong.Diplomats from several nations, including Canada and the United States, gathered Monday outside the Beijing courthouse where Kovrig’s trial was held after they were barred from attending it for what China says are national security reasons.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has denounced China’s action as “completely unacceptable, as is the lack of transparency around these court proceedings.”The United States joined the call for “continued consular access in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” Price’s tweet read in support of the Canadian government. 
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Press freedom advocate Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is suing Facebook in France, saying the social media platform spreads misinformation. The suit was filed Monday with the Paris public prosecutor.  “Reporters Without Borders accuses Facebook of ‘deceptive commercial practices’ on the grounds that the social media company’s promises to provide a ‘safe’ and ‘error-free’ online environment are contradicted by the large-scale proliferation of hate speech and false information on its networks,” the group said in a press release. Specifically, the group says Facebook allows “hate speech” against the media, as well as misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic. The group said Facebook allowed posts that were insulting and threatening against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, as well as targeting the TV program “Quotidien” and a regional newspaper, L’Union. Facebook said in a statement that it “has zero tolerance for any harmful content on our platforms,” Bloomberg reported. “Over the last few years, we’ve tripled the size of our safety and security team to 35,000 and built artificial intelligence technology to proactively find and remove harmful content,” the statement continued, according to Bloomberg. “While nobody can eliminate misinformation and hate speech from the internet entirely, we continue using research, experts and technologies to tackle them in the most comprehensive and effective way possible.” Should RSF win its case, the decision could have global repercussions for Facebook, as its terms of service are similar worldwide. Any change in France could trigger changes elsewhere. Facebook and other Big Tech companies have been under intense pressure to stop what some call misinformation. In December, the EU proposed new regulations that could hit companies with fines of up to 6% of their global revenue for not complying with orders to remove content deemed violent hate speech, according to Bloomberg. 
 
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Results of an independent inquiry announced Monday cleared Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, of breaking a ministerial code of conduct, but she is likely to face an opposition-led vote of no confidence in parliament Tuesday.  Sturgeon has been under intense scrutiny over what she did and did not do when she learned of complaints by several women against Alex Salmond – her predecessor as first minister and, once a close friend and ally in the cause of Scottish independence.  Salmond was charged in 2019 with sexual assault and attempted rape after allegations by nine women who had worked with him as first minister or for the party.He was acquitted by a criminal court in 2020, and claims the allegations made by several women were part of a conspiracy to wreck his political career.James Hamilton, a widely respected Irish lawyer appointed to conduct an independent inquiry into Sturgeon’s conduct, found that she had not breached the ministerial code. Had he reached the opposite conclusion, she would have been expected to resign.Hamilton rejected suggestions that she had broken the rules by failing to record meetings with Salmond in 2018, that she tried to influence an investigation into his behavior or that she misled the Scottish parliament.A second inquiry, by a committee of Scottish lawmakers, is due to publish a report on Tuesday. British media have reported that the committee voted 5-4 in favor of finding that Sturgeon gave an inaccurate account to Scotland’s Edinburgh-based parliament about when she learned of allegations against Salmond.The Conservatives, who are in power in the United Kingdom as a whole but in opposition in Scotland, are planning a vote of no confidence in Sturgeon on Tuesday.  With an election coming in May, Sturgeon called the vote a “political stunt” and said she was confident of winning.
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After aviation, Europe’s cultural and creative sector has been hit hardest by the coronavirus crisis, losing nearly $240 billion, according to a recent study by an accounting firm. Now as France weathers its third lockdown in a year, the creative arts industry is pushing back, with a growing protest movement now occupying dozens of theaters nationwide.It’s been months since the Odeon theater was last open. But these days, Parisians can listen to a bit of live jazz at this Paris Left Bank landmark. Some were dancing on a recent afternoon, despite a chilly rain.A jazz band previews Odeon theatre’s afternoon assembly by occupation protesters. (VOA/Lisa Bryant)This was just a preview to the main act. The Odeon has been holding daily public assemblies— ever since a group of protesters took over the theater earlier this month.  They listed the latest tally of other occupied theaters across France—now about 70 and growing. The occupation movement began with demands the government reopen cultural venues—shuttered for months under coronavirus restrictions.  They also want benefits extended for out-of-work artists and the repeal of an unpopular unemployment reform.  Opera singer Aurelie Magnier, who attended the assembly, says she has been out of work for months. Luckily, she says, her partner has a steady job. Otherwise she wouldn’t be able to make ends meet.  Also here is Monique Pedron, a member of the yellow vest protest movement that sparked a political crisis in France a couple years back. Its presence at the Odeon shows how this latest protest movement is spreading to include students and others hard hit by the pandemic’s fallout.  Pedron says she misses culture, and she’s had it with COVID-19 restrictions. It’s more dangerous to take the metro, she says, than to attend a play. She hopes other French will join the occupation movement.  Europe-wide, revenues from the cultural and creative industries dropped nearly a third last year from 2019, accounting firm EY reported recently. Banners at the Odeon proclaim “Culture Sacrificed” and “Power to the People.”Protesters gather at the Odean theater, which started the nationwide theater protest movement. (VOA/Lisa Byrant)That was also the message at France’s Cesar film awards ceremony, where actress Corinne Masiero stripped naked to demand more government support. She’d written “no culture, no future” on her torso.   Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot visited the Odeon. She says she understands the artists’ concerns but calls the occupations of the theaters useless and dangerous. It’s not clear, however, whether anyone here or elsewhere is listening.  
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is holding talks Tuesday with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, then attending meetings with NATO foreign ministers and a separate session with his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany. Stoltenberg said ahead of the start of the two-day NATO session that ministers would look toward strengthening the alliance for the future and specifically consult about the situation in Afghanistan as well as what NATO can do to build stability in the Middle East and North Africa. For Blinken, the State Department said his trip to Belgium is aimed at boosting ties with NATO allies and partnering on issues such as climate change, counterterrorism and ongoing efforts in combating the coronavirus pandemic.  FILE – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Feb. 15, 2021.”It’ll be an opportunity for the secretary and the foreign ministers to discuss the NATO 2030 initiative,” Philip Reeker, acting assistant secretary for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, told reporters ahead of Blinken’s trip. “Proposals under that (2030 initiative) for alliance adaptation, concerns over China and Russia, as well as climate change, cybersecurity, hybrid threats, combating terrorism, energy security — clearly the global pandemic enters into this, and other common challenges that we face together.”   After four years of foreign policy under former President Donald Trump that focused only on prioritizing U.S. interests, Reeker said Blinken will deliver a speech in Brussels outlining a commitment to “rebuilding and revitalizing alliances,” while highlighting the importance of NATO.   “We know we’re stronger and better able to overcome challenges when we face them together, and we’re going to modernize our alliances, mend them as needed, and deal with the world as we face it,” Reeker said.  Blinken’s arrival in Europe on Monday came as the United States issued coordinated sanctions with the European Union on both China and Myanmar. The Myanmar sanctions targeted top officials who are linked to last month’s military coup, while the China sanctions were aimed at several Chinese officials accused of human rights abuses against the Muslim Uyghur minority in China’s Xinjiang province. FILE – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell hold a joint news conference, in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 8, 2020.Regarding Iran, Reeker said the top U.S. diplomat will consult with EU colleagues about the prospects of the United States and Iran mutually returning to the agreement signed in 2015 that limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.  Both the United States, which left the deal under Trump in 2018, and Iran, which responded by taking steps away from its commitments, have expressed a willingness to observe the agreement once again, but each has signaled the other side should start first.  The final part of Blinken’s trip agenda is bilateral talks with Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sophie Wilmès. 
 
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The United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada have imposed sanctions on several Chinese officials for human rights abuses against the Muslim Uyghur minority in China’s Xinjiang province, prompting retaliation from China.  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. sanctions were taken in solidary with U.S. allies.  “A united transatlantic response sends a strong signal to those who violate or abuse international human rights, and we will take further actions in coordination with like-minded partners,” Blinken said in a statement Monday.  FILE – Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks on foreign policy at the State Department in Washington, March 3, 2021.The U.S. Treasury Department said Monday it was sanctioning two Chinese officials — Wang Junzheng, former deputy party secretary in Xinjiang, and Chen Mingguo, director of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau.  The EU and Britain sanctioned those same officials, along with two others — Wang Mingshan, a member of the Communist Party’s standing committee in Xinjiang, and Zhu Hailun, former head of China’s Xinjiang region.   China’s Foreign Ministry responded immediately after the first sanctions were announced, denouncing them as “based on nothing but lies and disinformation.”  China then announced its own sanctions against 10 European individuals and four institutions, saying they had “maliciously spread lies and disinformation.” Those sanctioned included five members of the European Parliament.   The EU sanctions are the first significant economic penalties it has placed on China since 1989, when Beijing was cited for its violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.  The EU accused Chen of being responsible for “arbitrary detentions and degrading treatment inflicted upon Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities, as well as systematic violations of their freedom of religion or belief,” according to its Official Journal.   FILE – Residents line up inside the Artux City training center in western China’s Xinjiang region, Dec. 3, 2018.The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Public Security Bureau was also sanctioned by Britain and the European Union.  All 27 EU governments agreed to the sanctions.  Canada’s foreign ministry said: “Mounting evidence points to systemic, state-led human rights violations by Chinese authorities.”  Separately Monday, Blinken along with the foreign ministers of four countries — Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada — released a joint statement that said the evidence of China’s abuses in Xinjiang, “including from the Chinese Government’s own documents, satellite imagery, and eyewitness testimony is overwhelming.”  “We will continue to stand together to shine a spotlight on China’s human rights violations,” they said. Human rights advocates say about 1 million Uyghurs are being held in camps. Some accuse Beijing of torture, forced sterilization and forced labor.   China maintains its actions in Xinjiang are to root out Islamic extremism.   Zhang Ming, China’s ambassador to the EU, said last week that sanctions would not impact Beijing’s policies and warned of retaliation.    “We want dialogue, not confrontation. We ask the EU side to think twice. If some insist on confrontation, we will not back down, as we have no options other than fulfilling our responsibilities to the people in our country,” he said.   
 
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A set of laws due to be debated in Venezuela could further limit citizens’ rights, experts are warning.The country’s newly formed National Assembly was asked to review 34 laws earlier this month, including the Law on Social Responsibilities on Radio, Television and Electronic Media or “Ley Resorte,” which regulates media; and the International Cooperation Law, which governs how civil society groups operate in Venezuela.No details have been made public about what reforms may be proposed, but rights groups and those who rely on platforms such as Twitter to access independent information raised concerns that any revisions could limit press freedom.Ali Daniels, director of the nonprofit civil rights group Acceso a la Justicia, told VOA the plans for reform are further evidence that the Venezuelan government seeks to control the few spaces over which it has minimal control.”If you want to control content on social networks, what you really want to control is dissent and the manifestations of freedom of expression that are made through it,” Daniels said.José Gregorio Correa, a member of the newly formed National Assembly, told VOA he believes some amendments are needed to update the Resorte law, but that the government should avoid measures that restrict freedom of expression.”It’s necessary that we make some amendments and adapt it to new realities. I don’t believe in restrictions; I believe in responsibilities,” Correa said, adding, “I don’t think the state may interfere in people’s freedom to express themselves.”Journalists, including those using social media, have an “obligation to answer,” Correa said, adding, “I do not think that social media should be restricted, but rather that those who use it, should be held accountable.”VOA tried to reach other members of the new National Assembly for comment, but they did not respond to the requests.The United States, European Union and several other countries do not recognize Venezuela’s newly formed National Assembly, saying elections in December, which the opposition largely boycotted, failed to comply with international standards.Free expression limitedRafael Uzcátegui, coordinator of the nongovernmental organization Provea, said he is concerned that legal reforms to the International Cooperation Law could be used to limit criticism of rights abuses and ultimately mean greater restrictions on freedom of expression.The law grants rights groups legal status in Venezuela and governs how they operate, including access to foreign funding.Uzcátegui said any attempts to restrict the law could harm the ability of rights groups to investigate abuses and make it harder for groups “denouncing situations that are harmful to individuals and human rights.”Fran Monroy, a Caracas-based journalist who specializes in technology, said the review could signal the “beginning of the end of social networks in Venezuela.”The space for independent reporting has shrunk in Venezuela under President Nicolás Maduro, according to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders. The country ranks 147 out of 180, where 1 is the freest, according to the group’s annual press freedom index.FILE – A Venezuelans picks a newspaper in Caracas, May 1, 2019, after a day of violent clashes on the streets of the capital spurred by opposition leader Juan Guaido’s call on the military to rise up against President Nicolas Maduro.Radio and TV stations that broadcast critical content have lost access to broadcast frequencies, and legal and economic pressures have led news outlets to close or journalists to flee.Social media has filled the gap left by traditional media, but that can also bring retaliation.The nongovernmental organization Espacio Publicó has documented 25 cases of citizens being arrested for publishing content on digital platforms.Twitter has also come into conflict with the Maduro government.In 2020, the social media site suspended dozens of accounts linked to the government and military, including the oil ministry, Reuters reported.Some accounts were later restored. At the time Twitter said it has systems set up to detect “platform manipulations” which account users can appeal if they are suspended in error.This report originated in VOA’s Latin American Division. Maria Elena Little Endara contributed to this story.
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European Union solidarity is breaking down amid a vaccine debacle that analysts say may have long-lasting repercussions for the future of European political integration.Member states are divided over the wisdom of imposing a vaccine export ban threatened by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The ban is mainly focused on Britain, a bid to secure more vaccines for the EU, but critics warn it could backfire on the bloc and tarnish its much vaunted commitment to free trade and internationalism.And there is also an emerging dispute on whether the vaccines the bloc is receiving are being distributed fairly by the European Commission among the EU’s 27 member states.Five central European and Baltic countries, led by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, have complained of unequal treatment and plan to raise more forcefully their objections over the apportionment at a summit Thursday of EU heads of state and government.“The last few weeks have shown that deliveries are currently not being made according to population keys and that this is set to intensify in the coming months,” reads a complaint signed by Kurz and four other national leaders.The disgruntled national leaders added: “This approach clearly contradicts the political goal of the European Union — the equal distribution of vaccine doses to all member states. If the distribution were to continue in this way, it would result in significant unequal treatment — which we must prevent.”Cases and frustration growingThe mood in European capitals is turning sour. Locals complain they can’t see the light at then of the pandemic tunnel. Coronavirus infections are rising rapidly across the continent, in contrast to Britain and America, where much quicker and nimbler vaccine rollouts are seeing a significant falloff in the rate of confirmed cases.Much of the frustration among member states is being directed at von der Leyen, who was the driving force behind persuading member states to sign on to a vaccine procurement and distribution program managed by the authorities in Brussels.Medical workers prepare doses of Oxford/AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Antwerp, Belgium, March 18, 2021.She and EC commissioners argued a bloc-wide approach would alleviate the risk of vaccine rivalry between member states as they scrambled to place procurement orders and would advertise the strengths of the EU, which in turn would help garner more public support for greater political integration.But it hasn’t turned out that way and Europe is lagging behind on inoculation as a third wave of the pandemic hits the continent. EU countries are short overall on vaccines — but are also sitting at the same time on millions of doses of the British-developed AstraZeneca vaccine because of public doubts about its safety.Seventeen states, including France and Germany, paused administering Astra jabs last week because of worries that the vaccine caused blood-clots, but then reversed the halt, leaving behind however residual public fear about Astra and increasing incidents of Europeans refusing Astra jabs.Vaccine fightVon der Leyen on Sunday raised the vaccine war stakes with London, threatening again to block AstraZeneca from exporting jabs manufactured in the EU to Britain if the Anglo-Swedish company doesn’t first meet its supply obligations to EU countries. Brussels says Britain has grabbed more than its “fair share” of vaccines and hasn’t been sending to Europe any Astra vaccines produced in Britain. The British argue their contract pre-dates the EU’s by several months and because the EU was late in ordering, it is suffering the consequences.“We have the possibility to forbid planned exports,” Von der Leyen told German newspapers. “That is the message to AstraZeneca, ‘You fulfill your contract with Europe before you start delivering to other countries.’” An export ban would likely target not just the Astra vaccines manufactured in the EU but also the export of Pfizer-BioNTech doses, which are produced in Belgium.Privately, British officials say they would consider retaliating if a ban is imposed by blocking crucial ingredients shipped from Yorkshire needed for the manufacture in Belgium of the Pfizer vaccine. The U.S. drug maker has warned Brussels that production at its main vaccine plant in Belgium would “grind to a halt,” if Britain opted to retaliate.The threat of an export ban is causing alarm among several member states, with Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden all against the proposal to block vaccine exports. They have warned it would tarnish the bloc’s reputation as a champion of free trade and the rule of law. Belgian officials say they’re worried that export bans would impair supply chains that rely on international trade.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke with Alexander De Croo, the Belgian Prime Minister. “We discussed our efforts to tackle COVID-19. We also touched on the importance of global supply chains and on common efforts to speed up vaccine production,” De Croo said after the conversation. British officials say they are hopeful about shaping an alliance against Brussels on the issue of an export ban and remain confident German Chancellor Angela Merkel would also oppose such a drastic step.EC commissioners place some of the blame for the slow pace of inoculations largely on member states. EU countries have vaccinated barely 10% of the bloc’s population compared to Britain which has inoculated more than 50%. EU officials say they are being scapegoated by member states.But major EU powers, including Germany and Italy, are pointing the finger at Brussels, and their leaders are tiring of what they say are severe shortages in EU supplies. A German official told VOA the EU commissioners are proving to be “the gang that can’t shoot straight.”The Sputnik optionJens Spahn, the German health minister, told reporters “there is not yet enough vaccine in Europe to stop the third wave through vaccination alone. Even if the deliveries from EU orders now come reliably, it will still take several weeks until the risk groups are fully vaccinated.” He has warned Germany might decide to buy Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine even before the EU medicines regulator has authorized it. “I am very much in favor of us doing it nationally, if the EU does not do something,” he said Saturday.German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center, looks on as Health Minister Jens Spahn, left, and Interior Minister Horst Seehofer talk prior to the weekly cabinet meeting in Berlin, March 17, 2021.Mario Draghi, the Italian Prime Minister and a former head of the European Central Bank, has also raised the prospects of ignoring the EU and purchasing the Russian vaccine. With case numbers spiraling out of control in Italy, there are fears that the third wave could be as deadly as the first wave, and Draghi says his priority is “giving the greatest number of vaccinations in the shortest time possible.”“If European coordination works, fine,” the Italian leader said at a press conference when asked about buying Sputnik “Otherwise on health, you have to be ready to do it yourself. This is what Merkel said and this is what I am saying here,” he added.Hungary and Slovakia have already purchased Sputnik doses.Frustrations over the vaccine program and the reimposition of lockdown restrictions in many European countries is boiling over in parts of the continent. Thousands of anti-lockdown protesters took to the street in Germany and Switzerland in protests organized by activists by both far-left and far-right groups.Police officers remove demonstrators from a square during a protest against the government’s COVID-19 restrictions in Kassel, Germany, March 20, 2021.There are also signs voters mean to make their feelings clear in upcoming elections about their frustrations with the vaccine rollout as well as re-tightened lockdowns. German Chancellor Angela Merkel Christian Democrats suffered last week historic defeats in state elections, seen as a test of voter opinion before September’s nationwide German federal ballot. French President Emmanuel Macron has also seen his polls numbers drop.Guy Verhofstadt, an EU lawmaker and the former Belgium prime minister, admits the vaccine campaign has been “ a fiasco,” but says, “in these troubled times, European integration is the only sensible way forward for our continent.” He maintains it proves the EU needs a proper “health union.”However, voters might not see it that way. Some analysts question whether the EU will come out of the pandemic stronger than it went into it with some suggesting that Brussels’ handling of the pandemic will undermine the appetite for further political integration.“With its disastrous vaccine procurement policy, the EU committed the ultimate mistake: it has given people a rational reason to oppose European integration,” argues Wolfgang Münchau, director of Eurointelligence, a specialist news service. 
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A protest in the English city of Bristol against new policing legislation turned into violent clashes that left at least 20 officers injured — two of them seriously — widespread damage to a police station and police vehicles torched, police said Monday.Seven people were arrested during the protest, which started Sunday afternoon and ran through to the early hours of Monday morning. Police said the number of arrests would likely increase in coming days as officers study closed circuit television footage.The violence, which also saw several police vehicles damaged, was branded as “unacceptable” by Britain’s interior minister, Priti Patel.”Thuggery and disorder by a minority will never be tolerated,” she said.What started as a peaceful demonstration of around 3,000 people on College Green in the heart of the city in western England turned violent after hundreds of protesters descended on the New Bridewell police station.Many demonstrators donned face masks and carried placards criticizing the legislation, such as “Say no to U.K. police state” and “Freedom to protest is fundamental to democracy.”The protesters were ostensibly venting their anger at the government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which is currently going through parliament. Under the terms of the legislation, which covers England and Wales, police will be handed new powers to tackle demonstrations.Sue Mountstevens, police and crime commissioner for the Avon and Somerset region, said seven people have been arrested but that there would be “many more” detained.”It’s disgraceful and outrageous,” she said. “Police officers went to work yesterday and some have returned home via hospital battered and bruised.”Protesters attempted to smash the windows of the glass-fronted police station and damaged 12 vehicles, including two that were set on fire.Andy Marsh, chief constable of Avon and Somerset Police, said 12 police vehicles were damaged and “significant damage” was caused to the New Bridewell police station.”Officers were pelted with stones and missiles and fireworks and it was a terrifying situation for them to deal with,” he said.”I believe the events of yesterday were hijacked by extremists, people who were determined to commit criminal damage, to generate very negative sentiment about policing and to assault our brave officers,” he added.Two of the police officers injured were treated in hospital after suffering broken ribs and an arm. Both have since been discharged.Bristol mayor Marvin Rees, who said he had “major concerns” about the bill, condemned the violence and said the unrest would be used to justify the legislation.One of the reasons why the British government has pushed through new legislation on the police’s powers over protests relates to last summer’s anti-racism protests, including the toppling of a statue of slave trader, Edward Colston, in Bristol.
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Brussels Monday for meetings this week that the State Department says are aimed at boosting ties with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies and partnering on issues such as climate change, counterterrorism and ongoing efforts in combating the coronavirus pandemic. Blinken is scheduled to take part in a meeting of NATO foreign ministers Tuesday and Wednesday, and to also hold talks with NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “It’ll be an opportunity for the secretary and the foreign ministers to discuss the NATO 2030 initiative,” Acting Assistant Secretary Philip Reeker for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs told reporters ahead of Blinken’s trip. “Proposals under that [2030 initiative] for alliance adaptation, concerns over China and Russia, as well as climate change, cybersecurity, hybrid threats, combating terrorism, energy security — clearly the global pandemic enters into this, and other common challenges that we face together.”Banners displaying the NATO logo are placed at the entrance of new NATO headquarters during the move to the new building, March 18, 2021.After four years of foreign policy under former President Donald Trump that focused only on prioritizing U.S. interests, Reeker said Blinken will deliver a speech in Brussels outlining a commitment to “rebuilding and revitalizing alliances” while highlighting the importance of NATO.  “We know we’re stronger and better able to overcome challenges when we face them together, and we’re going to modernize our alliances, mend them as needed, and deal with the world as we face it,” Reeker said. Blinken’s itinerary also includes a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Union’s (EU) foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. The State Department said agenda items include economic recovery efforts in response to the coronavirus pandemic and addressing “global challenges that come from Iran, Russia and China.” Specifically, regarding Iran, Reeker said the top U.S. diplomat will consult with EU colleagues about the prospects of the United States and Iran mutually returning to the agreement signed in 2015 that limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Both the United States, which left the deal under Trump in 2018, and Iran, which responded by taking steps away from its commitments, have expressed a willingness to observe the agreement once again, but each has signaled the other side should start first. The final part of Blinken’s trip agenda is bilateral talks with Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sophie Wilmès. 
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The espionage trial of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig began Monday behind closed doors in a Beijing courtroom. Kovrig’s trial is being held just three days after another Canadian, entrepreneur Michael Spavor, was put on trial in a closed door hearing on espionage charges in the northeastern city of Dandong.   Both Kovrig and Spavor were arrested separately in December 2018 days after Canadian authorities arrested Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of China’s Huawei Technologies, in Vancouver on a U.S. warrant.   Diplomats from several nations, including Canada and the United States, gathered outside the Beijing courthouse where Kovrig is being tried. The diplomats said they have been barred from attending the trial on what China claims are national security reasons.Policemen wearing face masks chat each other at No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court in Beijing, March 22, 2021.Spavor’s trial last Friday, in which diplomats were also barred, ended without a verdict being rendered.   The arrests of Kovrig and Spavor have plunged relations between Ottawa and Beijing to their lowest levels in decades. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has denounced China’s actions as “completely unacceptable, as is the lack of transparency around these court proceedings.” Meng remains under house arrest in Vancouver as she fights the extradition warrant from the U.S. As chief financial officer of Huawei — one of the world’s largest manufacturers of smartphones — Meng is accused of lying to U.S. officials about Huawei’s business in Iran, which is under U.S. sanctions.   The U.S. has also warned other countries against using Huawei-built products, suspecting the Chinese government of installing spyware in them.   
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Germany will likely institute another lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus, which would make it the latest European country enacting fresh restrictions.A draft of recommendations to be presented to German Chancellor Angela Merkel will push for lockdowns to be extended until April 18, Reuters reported Sunday.In Poland, which is seeing the highest number of daily cases since November, new measures have forced nonessential shops and other facilities to close for three weeks.  Poland recorded more than 26,000 new cases Sunday and more than 350 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.  Nonessential stores have also been closed in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, where only food markets are allowed to stay open. It recorded more than 15,000 new cases Sunday and nearly 270 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Largest Vaccine Producer Delays Shipments to Some CountriesSome European countries resume use of AstraZeneca vaccineAbout one-third of France’s population is under lockdown after measures were imposed Friday in Paris and several regions in northern and southern parts of the country. More than 4,300 people were in intensive care units in France Saturday, the health ministry said, the most this year.About 6.1 million people in France have received their first COVID-19 shot, or just less than 12% of the adult population.But in Marseille, in the south of France, thousands of people took to the streets Sunday to celebrate carnival in defiance of pandemic restrictions.In the United States, officials in the popular Florida tourist destination of Miami Beach extended an emergency curfew of 8 p.m. for up to three weeks after dozens were arrested Saturday. Officials say 1,000 people have been arrested in the beach town since March 1. On Saturday, crowds of Spring Break partiers were met with pepper spray balls and SWAT teams in the beachfront city as they defied the highly unusual 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. On February 26, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said the state is an “oasis of freedom” from coronavirus restrictions. Meanwhile, the world’s largest vaccine producer has told at least three countries that their COVID vaccine shipments will be delayed. The Serum Institute of India has informed Brazil, Morocco and Saudi Arabia that India’s overwhelming need for the vaccine is the cause of the delay.India is experiencing a surge in infections. The South Asian nation has the third-highest number of coronavirus cases, with 11.6 million. Only the United States and Brazil have more, at 28.7 million and 11.9, respectively.India’s Serum Institute has come under criticism for selling or donating more vaccines than putting shots into arms in India.Meanwhile, Brazil is in talks with the United States to import excess doses of coronavirus vaccines, its Foreign Ministry tweeted Saturday.On Sunday, Brazil reversed a decision that required local authorities to save half their COVID-19 vaccine stockpiles for second doses, instead opting to get the first shots in as many Brazilians as possible.The South American country’s vaccine campaign has lagged, as it recorded 79,069 new cases of coronavirus infections in a 24-hour period, its Health Ministry said Saturday, and reported more than 2,400 COVID-19 deaths.The U.S. has millions of doses of vaccine developed by Britain’s University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical giant that have been approved by the World Health Organization and the European Medicines Agency but not for use in the U.S. yet.Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who famously told his country to “stop whining” about the country’s death from “a little flu,” has signed three measures to speed the purchase of vaccines, including those from Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson.
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A year ago, Greece prided itself on successfully quashing its coronavirus curve like few countries worldwide. Now, it is struggling with a roaring resurgence of the bug that causes the COVID-19 disease. As infections continue to surge, the government in Athens is preparing to draft doctors from the private sector to aid the state’s strained health system and hospital staff exhausted by an influx of patients.Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis says Greece is fighting a last battle in its war against the pandemic.But the voluntary assistance it has requested from doctors across the nation, in recent days, has not come through. … And that has the conservative leader here saying he will not think twice about drafting medical personnel from the private sector to reinforce the health care system in the public sector.Greece Sidelines Thousands of Asylum-Seekers in National Inoculation DriveCritics say the policy echoes far-right practices and is further proof Greece is mistreating refugeesThe prime minister’s warning comes as Greece grapples with a surge in coronavirus infections, a startling spike that has seen cases grow from around 3,000 in September to nearly 240,000 this past week.Sofia Pouriki, a doctor at the state Sotiria hospital, describes the severity of the situation.This last wave, she says, is just terrible. She says too many patients are being admitted to hospitals and that is overwhelming the health care system with intensive care wards running out of beds to treat people.Hospital doctors and staff, says Pouriki, are exhausted.  Of about 200 doctors requested by the government to assist their colleagues in the public sector, just 50 have come forward. Worse yet, attempts over the weekend to woo them with bonus fees failed.  Doctors associations across the country say the government should first recruit residents at state hospitals and other medical staff waiting to be hired before proceeding with the order, which they describe as absolutely extreme.Athanasios Exadaktylos, president of the country’s doctors’ federation, warns against it.Ultimatums of this sort he says, can only prove counterproductive.  Much of Greece has been in lockdown since November, fueling frustration, riots and deepening financial woes in a country still crawling out from a decade-long recession.  And while draconian measures have not helped the government effectively manage the health crisis, it is now opting for a different approach, allowing shops and businesses to operate anew in a desperate bid to least salvage the failing state of the economy.The government says it will also start distributing free self-test kits in the coming weeks to alleviate pressure on the health care system. Experts say the move may pave the way for a new way of self-care against the pandemic within the European Union. 
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The Mexican banks of the Suchiate River dawned Sunday with a heavy presence of immigration agents in place to enforce Mexico’s new limits on all but essential travel at its shared border with Guatemala.Dozens of immigration agents lined the riverside asking those who landed on the giant innertube rafts that carry most of the cross-border traffic for documentation and turning many back.But those turned away weren’t migrants, they were the small-time Guatemalan merchants and residents from Tecun Uman, across the river, who buy in bulk in Mexico to resell in Guatemala or purchase household items when the exchange rate favors it.”They haven’t let us enter because they think we’re migrants when really we’re only coming to shop,” said Amalia Vázquez, a Guatemalan citizen with her baby tied to her back and seven other relatives accompanying her. Vázquez said her family travels the 100 kilometers monthly from Quetzaltenango to buy plastic items and sweets they resell at home.After a negotiation, immigration agents allowed her sister and another relative to pass, but they had to leave their IDs with agents while they shopped. Nearby, other agents turned away a man who said he was just coming to buy his medicine.The Mexican government has interrupted the usually free-flowing cross-river traffic here before, infuriating merchants on both sides. In recent years, as migrant caravans arrived in Tecun Uman, Mexican troops lined the Mexican side of the Suchiate and largely stopped the raft traffic.The last time was in January 2020 when hundreds of soldiers blocked large groups of migrants trying to cross.This time there is no large migrant presence across the river, but Mexico is again under pressure to slow the flow of migrants north as the U.S. government wrestles with growing numbers, especially of families and unaccompanied minors.  Many of those, however, are believed to be traveling with smugglers who can simply choose among the hundreds of unmonitored crossing points on Mexico’s long jungle borders with Guatemala and Belize.The government said the measures that went into effect Sunday — one year into the pandemic — were aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19. But most saw it as a cover to again try to control illegal migration and no one was talking about health concerns. The U.S. and Mexico have had a similar limit on non-essential travel on their shared border for a year, but Mexico is one of the few countries to otherwise not impose health restrictions on people entering the country by land or air.The Mexican government last week also announced a new effort against the smuggling of families with minors. They said they would increase patrols in areas and checkpoints and use drones and night vision to watch crossing points.On Saturday, Mexico’s immigration agency announced that authorities had detained 95 Central American and Cuban migrants who arrived by plane to the northern city of Monterrey. Among them were eight unaccompanied minors. The flights originated in southeast Mexican cities, Villahermosa and Cancun. Smugglers sometimes put migrants who can pay on such flights to avoid highway checkpoints in Mexico.  On Friday, hundreds of National Guard troops and immigration agents paraded through the capital of the southern state of Chiapas. On Sunday, few soldiers were visible along the river.”It’s all a show,” said a woman with a sweets stand in the market, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation. “They don’t let the ones coming to buy pass, but the smugglers are very active.”Mexico’s National Immigration Institute says smugglers are telling Central American migrants to bring children to improve their chances of entering Mexico and the United States.The flow hasn’t reached early 2019 levels yet, but the U.S. government is worried by the rapid increase in illegal entries since last fall.  “It isn’t much that we take for reselling,” said María Vázquez, Amalia’s sister, while she negotiated the price of some cookies and her family waited by the river. “The migrants traveling in groups really harm us and the pandemic too. They never asked us for documentation.”
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Canadian Pacific Railway on Sunday said it has agreed to buy Kansas City Southern for $25 billion in a deal to create the first rail network connecting the United States, Mexico and Canada, betting on an increase in North American trade.The cash-and-shares deal would create the first U.S.-Mexico-Canada railroad, offering a single integrated rail system connecting ports on the U.S. Gulf, Atlantic and Pacific coasts with overseas markets.The deal is contingent on the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) blessing the transaction and Canadian railroad operators’ previous attempts to buy U.S. rail companies have met limited success.”I’m not going to speculate about the STB rejecting,” Canadian Pacific Chief Executive Keith Creel told Reuters in an interview. But he said based on the facts of the case, including that the two railroads currently have no overlap in their network, he expects regulators to approve it. The STB review is expected to be complete by mid-2022.It is the top merger and acquisition deal announced in 2021 and the biggest merger involving two rail companies, though it ranks behind Berkshire Hathaway’s purchase of BNSF in 2010 for $26.4 billion.  Creel said in a statement that the new competition the deal would inject into the North American transportation market “cannot happen soon enough,” as the new USMCA Trade Agreement makes the efficient integration of the continent’s supply chains more important than ever before.The new and modernized U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact took effect in July of last year, replacing the earlier deal that lasted 26 years, and is expected to foster manufacturing and agriculture trade activities among the three countries.”It gives us certainty given that the USMCA trade deal was resolved,” Creel added.Creel will continue to serve as CEO of the combined company, which will be headquartered in Calgary, the statement said.The KCS board has approved the bid.The companies also highlighted the environmental benefits of the deal, saying the new single-line routes that would be created by the combination are expected to shift trucks off crowded U.S. highways, and cut emissions.Rail is four times more fuel efficient than trucking, and one train can keep more than 300 trucks off public roads and produce 75% fewer greenhouse gas emissions, the companies said in the statement.Calgary-based Canadian Pacific is Canada’s No. 2 railroad operator, behind Canadian National Railway Co Ltd, with a market value of $50.6 billion.Kansas City Southern has domestic and international rail operations in North America, focused on the north-south freight corridor connecting commercial and industrial markets in the central United States with industrial cities in Mexico.
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U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s surprise withdrawal from a European treaty aimed at protecting women against violence.In a statement, Biden called Turkey’s rejection of the treaty “unwarranted” and “deeply disappointing.”“Countries should be working to strengthen and renew their commitments to ending violence against women, not rejecting international treaties designed to protect women and hold abusers accountable,” the U.S. leader said. “This is a disheartening step backward for the international movement to end violence against women globally.”Turkey’s Erdogan Quits European Treaty on Violence Against WomenNo reason was provided for the withdrawalIn 2011, Turkey was the first European country to adopt the pact known as the Istanbul Convention, but Erdogan withdrew from it early Saturday. In recent years, Erdogan and other members of his ruling party claimed the agreement reached in Turkey’s largest city undermined the country’s conservative policies.“We will not leave room for a handful of deviants who try to turn the debate into a tool of hostility to our values,” Erdogan told his party during a speech in Ankara in August.The accord was aimed at eliminating domestic violence and promoting equality, but femicide has nonetheless surged in Turkey in recent years.Conservatives in Turkey and in Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted ruling AKP contended that the accord undercut family structures and encouraged violence.Some critics also were opposed to the pact’s principle of gender equality and viewed it as promoting homosexuality, given the convention’s call for non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.”Preserving our traditional social fabric” will protect the dignity of Turkish women, Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Twitter. “For this sublime purpose, there is no need to seek the remedy outside or to imitate others.”Family, Labor and Social Policies Minister Zehra Zumrut said the Turkish constitution and laws guarantee women’s rights.The Council of Europe said the Turkish action was “devastating.”“The Istanbul Convention covers 34 European countries and is widely regarded as the gold standard in international efforts to protect women and girls from the violence that they face every day in our societies,” the council said in a statement.“This move is a huge setback to these efforts and all the more deplorable because it compromises the protection of women in Turkey, across Europe and beyond,” the council said.In his statement, Biden said, “Gender-based violence is a scourge that touches every nation in every corner of the world. In the past few weeks, we’ve seen too many examples of horrific and brutal assaults on women, including the tragic murders in (the U.S. state of) Georgia.” He was referring to a shooting last week in the Atlanta area in which six of eight people killed were women of Asian descent.“And we’ve seen the broader damage that living under the daily specter of gender-based violence does to women everywhere,” the U.S. leader said. “It hurts all of us, and we all must do more to create societies where women are able to go about their lives free from violence.”
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Russia’s ambassador to the United States returned to Moscow on Sunday after being recalled for emergency consultations amid rising tensions with Washington following President Joe Biden’s comments that he believed his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, was a killer. 
 
Biden’s remark in a TV interview earlier in the week in turn prompted a terse quip from Vladimir Putin who wished the U.S. president “good health” and said that people tend to refer to others as they really see themselves. 
 
The Biden interview came on the heels of the release of a report by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence that concluded Putin had “authorized, and a range of Russian government organizations conducted, influence operations aimed at denigrating President Biden’s candidacy and the Democratic Party, supporting former President [Donald] Trump, undermining public confidence in the electoral process and exacerbating sociopolitical divisions in the United States.” 
 
The Kremlin immediately denied the findings of the report, saying they were “absolutely unfounded.” 
 
Ambassador Anatoly Antonov landed at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport early on March 21, Russian news agencies reported, after he was recalled last week over the spat. Before takeoff in New York he told news agencies he would stay in Moscow “as long as needed” and that several meetings were scheduled. 
 
“The Russian side has always stressed that we are interested in the development of Russian-American relations to the same extent as our American colleagues are,” he was quoted as saying by TASS. 
 
Moscow, which rarely recalls ambassadors, last summoned its envoy in the United States in 1998 over a Western bombing campaign in Iraq. 
 
In 2014, after the U.S. said Russia would face repercussions for the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, Putin held back on recalling Moscow’s envoy, describing the measure as a “last resort.” Biden, who has spent more than four decades in politics, said “I do” during an ABC News interview broadcast on March 17 when asked if he believed the Russian president was a killer. 
 
The Kremlin immediately responded that Biden’s statement was “very bad” and “unprecedented.” 
 
Putin has since proposed a phone call with Biden to talk about the COVID-19 pandemic and regional conflicts, among other topics, and said it should be open to the public. 
 
The Kremlin has suggested the offer was intended to avoid permanent damage in Russian-U.S. relations from Biden’s characterization. 
 
Putin’s two decades as Russia’s leader have included Western accusations of state-sponsored assassination attempts against political opponents at home and abroad, though no U.S. president had previously said in public that they believed the Russian leader was directly responsible for murder. 
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