Europe’s far right has suffered some setbacks recently: Germany’s top opposition party is under surveillance for extremism and France shut down a right-wing youth group.  Experts say these groups are using old and new grievances and are inspired by their U.S. counterparts. For VOA, Lisa Bryant reports from Paris.
…

It’s a new era for Russian women, at least if they’re aspiring truckers, boat drivers, or pilots. Russia’s government has opened up several hundred professions that previously barred women under late-Soviet-era labor restrictions.  From Moscow, Charles Maynes reports.Videographer: Ricardo Marquina Montanana, Producer: Henry Hernandez
…

Glenda Andrew pulls a tray of salmon from the oven, filling the community center’s kitchen with the aroma of garlic, cayenne and lemon rising from its crackling skin.
It is the scent of memory, of family dinners and church socials — the warmth of the Caribbean in the middle of a gray English winter made gloomier by COVID-19.  
This is food for the soul, Andrew says, and it’s needed now more than ever by Britain’s older immigrants who have been isolated from friends and family by the pandemic. Once a week the 57-year-old joins other volunteers to prepare hot meals with the zing of the islands, which they distribute for free to people in Preston and surrounding communities in northwestern England.
The area has recorded some of the U.K.’s highest coronavirus infection rates.
“It’s a great way to connect and build that relationship, but I didn’t know that at the time,” Andrew said of the project’s beginnings. “I just knew that I wanted to do something and make sure that they were getting a hot meal — not sandwiches, not soup — getting something that they’re accustomed to eating and hope that they would enjoy it.”
Once a week, for the last 42 weeks, the lucky seniors on Andrew’s list have been treated to delicacies such as jerk pork, curry goat and cow foot soup accompanied by rice and peas, yams and plantains. Portions are hefty, so there’s enough to go in the freezer for another day. Last week, some 400 meals were packed into yellow foam packages and delivered by volunteers.
The meal program grew out of Andrew’s work with Preston Windrush Generation & Descendants, a group organized to fight for the rights of early immigrants from the Caribbean and other former British colonies who found themselves threatened with deportation in recent years.  
The Windrush Generation, named after the ship that carried the first migrants from the Caribbean in 1948, came to Britain in response to a government call for workers from throughout the Empire to help rebuild the country after World War II.
The Windrush Scandal rocked Britain in 2018 amid a crackdown on illegal immigration. Long-term legal residents lost jobs, homes and the right to free medical care because many arrived as children and couldn’t produce paperwork proving their right to live in the U.K. Some were detained, and an unknown number were deported to countries they barely remembered.
When the coronavirus pandemic struck Britain, the free-spirited Andrew didn’t want the community to be victimized again. She decided to create her own food program tailored to the taste buds of the people she grew up with.
Nothing is too good for Andrew’s people. They get the best. No pilchards here.
“Salmon is a delicacy, isn’t it? You know what I mean? They’re worth it,” she said. “They brought us up, they’ve taught us so many things. They gave up their life in the Caribbean to come here.”
In addition to food, the volunteers offer a bit of human contact.  
The loneliness and isolation of the past year is painful for many of the seniors. When deliveries arrive, they seek out friendly gossip with the volunteers about what their neighbors are up to.
Sylius Toussaint, 81, who came from Dominica in 1960, said chatting with volunteers like Dave Williams helps as much as the food.
“They say hello and give you a meal, and maybe for just a few seconds at least you see someone new; someone you haven’t seen all week,” Toussaint said as his wife, Bridget, shot him a bemused look. “If you are on your own, it is so nice to see a fresh face — especially bringing gifts.”
Andrew wants to keep the meals flowing, even as optimism grows that Britain’s mass vaccination program may soon allow lockdown restrictions to be eased.
The project runs on donations and the energy of Andrew, who seemed to be in a dozen places at once as she marshaled her volunteer chefs last week. For now, they use a donated kitchen in a community center, but there’s a glimmer of hope for a more permanent venue at some point — maybe a place the community can gather.
But that’s in the future. For now, the volunteers plan to just keep going, gluing the community together with plates of rice and peas.
“Initially it was the food and, as I said, I didn’t know what we were creating,” Andrew said. “And it’s been amazing.”
…

Since U.S. President Joe Biden’s election, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been making diplomatic overtures to the West, pledging democratic reforms at home and promising a serious effort to improve ties with Turkey’s NATO partners.The Turkish leader told France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, in a video call Tuesday that cooperation has “very serious potential,” and he added that dialogue has an important role to play.“As two strong NATO allies, we can make significant contributions to peace, stability, and peace efforts in a wide geography — from Europe to the Caucasus, the Middle East, and Africa,” Erdogan said in a statement following the conversation.Also Tuesday, Erdogan unveiled a long-awaited action plan he has trailed heavily since Biden’s election win last November, which he says is aimed at improving human and civil rights in Turkey.“The ultimate aim of Turkey’s action plan is a new civilian constitution,” the Turkish president highlighted in his speech. The plan originates from the state’s “obligation to protect, in all of its affairs and acts and with all of the state institutions and organizations, the physical and moral integrity and the honor and dignity of individuals,” he announced.FILE – Members of Reporters Without Borders hold stencils representing portraits of imprisoned Turkish journalists, during a demonstration in front of the Turkish Embassy, in Paris, Jan. 5, 2018.But Erdogan’s critics say the action plan sits oddly with his government’s quashing of dissent — Turkey jails more journalists than any other country in the world — and the imprisoning of the Turkish leader’s political opponents, as well as a rolling crackdown on dissident groups, which became more expansive after a 2016 coup attempt failed to topple the Islamist populist leader.Wariness, skepticismDespite the overtures to Biden and Brussels, which have included the appointment of a new Turkish ambassador to the U.S. and Erdogan’s stated hopes to turn a new page in relations with the West after years of strained relations, the diplomatic charm offensive has been received so far in Washington with wariness and skepticism.U.S. officials say only last year Erdogan was engineering a dangerous standoff in the eastern Mediterranean with Greece and Cyprus over lucrative gas and oil drilling rights. Western Europeans and Turkey’s other regional neighbors accused Ankara of brinkmanship in a deadlock that saw opposing warships come close to clashing. And even in December, the Turkish president was continuing to complain about a Western conspiracy being formed against Turkey aimed at frustrating the projection of Turkish power and influence abroad.FILE – A handout photograph released by the Turkish Defense Ministry Aug. 12, 2020, shows Turkish seismic research vessel Oruc Reis, center, as it is escorted by Turkish Naval ships in the Mediterranean Sea, off Antalya, Aug. 10, 2020.“There are few signs that the leopard really has changed its spots,” an American official told VOA on Wednesday. He was speaking just hours after Turkey said it is considering purchasing a second S-400 anti-aircraft missile system from Russia, despite strong disapproval from the U.S. and NATO.FILE – The first parts of a Russian S-400 missile defense system are unloaded from a Russian plane near Ankara, Turkey, July 12, 2019.Ankara’s original purchase last year of the Russian air defense system, which NATO members say is incompatible with membership in the Western alliance, prompted even the more forbearing Trump administration to impose sanctions on Turkey.U.S. and Western officials say it is hardly surprising they remain skeptical about Erdogan’s intentions. “It is hard not to conclude that he is talking from both sides of his mouth,” said a Western diplomat. “There are no signs of him easing his crackdown on domestic dissent nor turning aside from a marriage of convenience with Russia.”Biden has taken an even harder line on Turkey than his White House predecessor, Donald Trump. Before being elected, Biden tagged Erdogan as an autocrat, and the new administration has rebuked Ankara for rights abuses and urged the release of prominent activist Osman Kavala.FILE – A journalist stands in front of a poster featuring jailed philanthropist Osman Kavala, during a press conference given by his lawyers, in Istanbul, Turkey, Oct. 31, 2018.Biden and Erdogan have yet to speak. The only high-level contact so far featured a phone conversation between Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, and Ibrahim Kalin, a security adviser to the Turkish leader.  EU, Turkish relationsLater this month, European Union heads of state and government are scheduled to review the bloc’s relations with Turkey. “There is no doubt that EU governments want a calmer, more predictable relationship with Ankara,” according to Marc Pierini, a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Europe research organization.He says they want to see improved relations with Turkey for economic reasons and because they fear that any further deterioration could prompt Erdogan to break his deal with the EU to block refugees from using Turkey again as a gateway to Europe.But in a commentary for Carnegie Europe, Pierini notes that Erdogan’s diplomatic charm offensive places the Europeans in a tricky spot. They don’t want to be seen “giving a blessing to Turkey’s autocratic leanings at a time when the country blatantly disregards and mocks Europe’s fundamental values,” he said. “Ankara is striving to dodge punitive measures and fill the agenda with reforms that are palatable to the Europeans. Yet, domestic developments in Turkey keep pointing in the opposite direction.” Rights issuesWestern diplomats say Ankara wants to limit any dialogue with the U.S. and Europe just to trade and economic matters with rights issues and Erdogan’s adventurism in Syria, Libya and Central Asia off the agenda.So far, that doesn’t seem to be working.FILE – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State Department in Washington, Feb. 4, 2021.On Monday, 170 U.S. lawmakers, Democrats and Republicans, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the Biden administration to address “troubling” human rights issues as it shapes its policy toward Turkey.Lawmakers noted in the letter that Turkey has long been an important partner, but they say Erdogan is responsible for the strains in the relationship.“Strategic issues have rightfully received significant attention in our bilateral relationship, but the gross violation of human rights and democratic backsliding taking place in Turkey are also of significant concern,” the lawmakers said, pointing to the weakening of Turkey’s judiciary, the appointment of Erdogan’s political allies to key military and intelligence positions, and the wrongful imprisonment of political opponents, journalists and members of minority groups. 
 
…

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency recently put the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party under surveillance for suspected extremist links that pose a potential threat to democracy, German media outlets report. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, or BfV) would not comment on the reports because of ongoing legal action by the AfD.  The Interior Ministry, which oversees the BfV, would neither confirm nor deny the news reports, but multiple German media organizations confirmed the surveillance through government sources close to the situation. On Wednesday, AfD’s parliamentary leadership, which controls 88 of 709 seats in the legislative body, described the surveillance as “completely unjustified” and vowed to fight it in court. The co-leader of the Alternative for Germany far-right party Alexander Gauland and the vice-leader of the parliamentary group Tino Chrupalla, left, address a press conference, in the parliamentary compound of the Bundestag in Berlin, March 3, 2021.BfV’s February 24 decision to classify AfD as a potential security threat is the first time in Germany’s post-war history that a political party represented in Parliament has been put under such scrutiny. The designation gives the intelligence agency additional surveillance powers, including tapping phones and other communications, and monitoring the movements of AfD members.  The AfD has become the main opposition in the German Parliament, which is entrenched in politics at all levels across the nation. The move also comes ahead of the September election that will choose Chancellor Angela Merkel’s successor.  Alexander Gauland, AfD’s parliamentary floor leader, told reporters the designation is clearly an effort to ruin the party’s chances in the election, and the matter will be decided in the courts. The AfD is currently the largest of four opposition parties in the national Parliament and has lawmakers in all 16 state assemblies. The party has moved steadily to the right since it was founded in 2013 for critics of the shared euro currency. It has been strongly denounced in recent years for its anti-immigrant rhetoric and ties to neo-Nazis. Several AfD members sympathized with the violent storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6.  Several senior figures have quit in recent years, warning that the party was being taken over by far-right extremists. Recent polls have shown support for AfD sagging as low as 9% after winning 12.6% of the vote in 2017. 
 
…

British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak announced Wednesday the government is extending emergency economic aid by nearly $91 billion to boost economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. In his annual budget speech to Parliament, Sunak said benefits to workers left unemployed by the pandemic will be extended until the end of September. He said the government will also allocate nearly $1 billion to support the arts, culture and sports impacted by the pandemic.  Sunak promised to do “whatever it takes” to support the British people and businesses through what he hopes will be the final months of pandemic restrictions. Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak attends a virtual press conference inside 10 Downing Street in central London, Britain, March 3, 2021.To help begin to pay for some of these programs, Sunak also announced that corporation taxes would rise from 19% to 25% beginning in 2023, by which time the economy should be past the pandemic crisis, he said. “Even after this change, the U.K. will still have the lowest corporation tax rate in the G-7,” Sunak said. The government will also freeze personal income tax thresholds, increasing revenue as inflation boosts incomes. The finance minister also announced the British Office for Budget Responsibility is forecasting the economy will return to its pre-pandemic strength by the middle of 2022, six months earlier than was forecast in November.  The bad news, he said, is that the impact of the pandemic will be felt long term, as the five-year forecast for economic growth is 3% smaller than it was pre-pandemic. 
 
…

A French government spokesman said Wednesday officials are hoping to lift some of the nation’s COVID-19-related restrictions by the middle of next month, as vaccinations have, so far, proven effective at lowering infection rates. At a Paris news conference, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal told reporters that while the nation is still facing hard times, “For the first time in months, the return to more normal living conditions is in sight.”  Attal said infection rates are decreasing among groups that have been vaccinated — meaning the elderly. Attal said it is a sign the vaccination campaign is working, and that it should be sped up.  He said the goal of vaccinating the most fragile was to reduce hospitalizations and protect the health care system, which is key to easing restrictions. The spokesman said President Emmanuel Macron has asked government officials to submit proposals gearing up toward a “cautious reopening” of the country. FILE – A Nice resident and her dog go for a bike ride during virus-related confinement in Nice, southern France, Feb. 27, 2021.Earlier this week, Health Minister Olivier Veran said France will retain its current measures aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19, including a nighttime curfew, as a bare minimum for the next four to six weeks. Other measures now in force include the closure of bars, restaurants, museums, sports and music venues. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus. At more than 3.8 million infections, France has world’s sixth highest number of cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the global outbreak. Reports say the number of new daily infections in France has been at more than 21,000 for six straight days. 
  
…

Dutch police say an explosive device detonated at a COVID-19 testing site before dawn Wednesday in the town of Bovenkarspel, north of Amsterdam, shattering windows but causing no reported injuries.Police spokesman Menno Hartenberg told reporters that forensic officers investigating the site found the metal remains of the explosive device outside a building, which was damaged. Hartenberg said “it was not possible” the blast was an accident.The northern area surrounding Bovenskarspel is suffering one of the Netherlands’ worst COVID-19 outbreaks, with 181 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, compared with about 27 per 100,000 nationally. At least one hospital has been forced to send patients to other provinces due to lack of space in its intensive care units.Forensic officers investigate the area at the scene of an explosion at a coronavirus testing location in Bovenkarspel, near Amsterdam, Netherlands, March 3, 2021.Resistance to COVID-19 restrictions in the Netherlands has turned violent in the past. In January, rioters torched a coronavirus test facility in the fishing village of Urk on the first night of a 9 p.m.-to-4:30 a.m. nationwide curfew imposed as part of the government’s latest coronavirus lockdown.Attacks on health workers and facilities around the world have increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A report released this week by Geneva-based Insecurity Insight and the University of California, Berkeley’s Human Rights Center identified more than 1,100 threats or acts of violence against health care workers and facilities last year.Wednesday is the first day in several months when lockdown measures in the Netherlands have been slightly eased, with hairdressers reopening and non-essential stores accepting a small number of customers by appointment. 
 
…

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of at least 6.0 struck central Greece Wednesday and was also felt in neighboring Albania and North Macedonia, and as far as Kosovo and Montenegro.
One man was injured by falling debris but there were no other immediate reports of serious injury. Local officials reported structural damage, mainly to old houses and buildings that saw walls collapse or crack.  
The midday quake sent thousands of people rushing out of homes and office buildings into the streets in Larissa and Tyrnavos, the closest towns to the epicenter, which was 22 kilometers (14 miles) west-northwest of Larissa. Numerous aftershocks hit the area, the most powerful having a preliminary magnitude of over 5.0.
The quake struck at 12:16 p.m. (1015 GMT), according to the Athens Geodynamic Institute which put the preliminary magnitude at 6.0.
The United States Geological Survey and Global Seismic Monitor Geofon put the preliminary magnitude at 6.3, but it is common for magnitude estimates to vary soon after a quake.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu phoned his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, to convey solidarity and offer assistance if needed, according to officials from the two neighboring countries — which are longtime regional rivals.  
In Athens, seismologist Vassilis Karastathis told reporters that the quake originated in a fault line in the area that has historically not produced temblors of much larger magnitude than Wednesday’s. He said the post-quake activity appeared normal so far but experts were monitoring the situation.
“The earthquake had an estimated depth of just 8 kilometers (5 miles) and that was one of the reasons why it was felt so strongly in the region,” said Karastathis, who is the deputy director of the Athens Geodynamic Institute.  
Nikos Gatsas, mayor of the town of Elassona which lies north of the epicenter, told Greece’s state broadcaster ERT that walls of old houses had collapsed in nearby villages, and that one village school had sustained damage. All pupils had been evacuated from the building and there were no injuries.  
The fire department said it had received reports of damage to one home and school, while the fire service and police were patrolling the area. All local fire departments were put on alert.
The head of the National Defense General Staff and other civil defense, fire department and political officials were heading to the area.
Greece lies in a highly seismically active region. The vast majority of earthquakes cause no damage or injuries.  
Last October, an earthquake that struck the eastern Greek Aegean island of Samos and the nearby Turkish coast killed two high school students on Samos and at least 75 people in Turkey. In 1999, an earthquake near Athens killed 143 people.
…

The Biden administration announced sanctions Tuesday on senior Russian government officials for the poisoning of Alexey Navalny and reiterated a demand that the opposition leader be released from detention. The sanctions were not specifically directed at President Vladimir Putin or his inner circle. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has the story.
…

For the first time, the administration of President Joe Biden is taking punitive action against Russia.  Sanctions were imposed Tuesday on several senior Russian government officials — but not the country’s president, Vladimir Putin — for what the Biden administration says is their role in the attempted murder of Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny.  The sanctions, seen by some experts as largely symbolic, are being coordinated with the European Union, which already had taken action against some Russian officials in connection with the Navalny case.  Moscow will respond in kind to the U.S. sanctions, warned Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.  Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a news conference in Moscow, Russia, March 2, 2021. (Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via Reuters)”We’re sending a clear signal to Russia that there are consequences for the use of chemical weapons,” a senior administration official said.  “I understand that the only thing that the administration could do is to send signals,” said University of Chicago Professor Konstantin Sonin, a Russian economist. “These are strong signals, but these are just signals, this is not something that has a material effect.” Among those sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department are Alexander Bortnikov, director of the FSB intelligence agency; Andrei Yarin, chief of the Kremlin’s domestic policy directorate; and deputy ministers of defense Alexey Krivoruchko and Pavel Popov. U.S. officials on Tuesday also declassified an intelligence finding putting blame for the poisoning on one of Russia’s leading intelligence agencies, the FSB.  “The tone and the tenor and the type of relationship that this president intends to have with President Putin will be quite different from the last administration,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. FILE – Then-Vice President of the United States Joe Biden, left, shakes hands with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, March 10, 2011.Tuesday’s actions are seen as stopping short of triggering a significantly wider diplomatic rift between Washington and Moscow.In response to a VOA question about cooperation between Biden and Putin concerning reducing nuclear missiles, proliferation by Iran and the war in Syria, Psaki said, “There are areas where we disagree, there are areas where there’s significant challenge, there are also areas where we are going to work with the Russians as we would with most global partners.”  The rhetoric expressed Tuesday by some key lawmakers on Capitol Hill was less diplomatic.  FILE – Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., speaks during a confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 24, 2021.”Putin is a coward who hires hitmen to keep his grip on power, but the Russian people are tired of living under a paranoid despot,” said Senator Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. “These sanctions and the addition of Russian entities to the Commerce Department’s blacklist send a clear message to Moscow, but we can’t stop here.” Sasse, a Nebraska Republican, is calling for the United States and its allies to “invoke the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention to demand inspections of Putin’s facilities that produced the nerve agents involved in Navalny’s poisoning. We need to kneecap all financial support to Putin’s corrupt regime.”  FILE – House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 3, 2020.The chairman of the House intelligence committee, Rep. Adam Schiff, Democratic of California, said, “Unless we impose meaningful costs, we cannot expect to curb behaviors from Russia that undermine both our national security and values.” Putin is unlikely to be chastened by the sanctions announced Tuesday, according to Cyrus Newlin, an associate fellow who focuses on Russia at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.  “I think the record shows that Vladimir Putin is relatively unconcerned about what the West thinks about him and his regime and increasingly how the West will respond,” Newlin told VOA.  Navalny was hospitalized in August after falling ill on a flight in Serbia. He was medically evacuated to Germany, where doctors determined he had been poisoned. Medical experts concluded the leader of the Russia of the Future party was exposed to the chemical nerve agent Novichok. Russia denied any involvement in the matter.  FILE – This handout picture posted Sept. 15, 2020, on the Instagram account of @navalny shows Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny with his family at Berlin’s Charite hospital.Upon recovery, Navalny returned home early this year and was immediately arrested. He was sent to a prison outside Moscow to serve a 2-and-a-half-year prison sentence for violating the terms of his probation while convalescing in Germany.  The Biden administration has called for his release.Other U.S. actionIn other action Tuesday, the State Department implemented measures “against multiple Russian individuals and entities associated with the Russian Federation’s chemical weapons program and defense and intelligence sectors.” Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said it was adding 14 entities in Russia, Germany and Switzerland to the Entity List — an international trade blacklist — “based on their proliferation activities in support of Russia’s weapons of mass destruction programs and chemical weapons activities.”  U.S. officials say they will soon announce sanctions as a response to a cyberattack linked to Russia on U.S. government computers, known as the SolarWinds hack.  VOA’s Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report.
 
…

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) Tuesday ruled that new Polish regulations regarding the appointment of Supreme Court judges could violate European law, effectively striking down efforts to exert political influence over the judiciary in that country.The legislation in question regulates Poland’s strengthened political influence over a top judicial body, the National Council of the Judiciary, and the body’s procedure of appointments to the Supreme Court. It also curbed the right to appeal the council’s decisions, effectively leaving that body unchecked with its authority.In his ruling, ECJ Judge Marko Ilesic said the new regulations “are capable of giving legitimate doubts” in the minds of subjects of the law as to the neutrality of judges appointed by the president of Poland and whether they are influenced by politics.The ruling obliges Poland’s right-wing government to discontinue the regulations and observe the principles of judicial independence and the right to judicial protection. It also means Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court can now review appeals by the five judges, who are not government loyalists. In the process, it is likely to rule that the entire appointment procedure was flawed and ineffective.The EU has been strongly critical of Poland’s conservative government for the changes it has introduced to the judiciary since it won power in 2015, saying they undermine the country’s rule of law.
 
…

French President Emmanuel Macron is being pulled in contrary political directions, swerving both left and right, as he seeks to work out the political trajectory most likely to secure him reelection next year, according to critics and analysts.  The maneuvering, though, is increasing the frustrations of left-wing voters amid signs that a backlash is building. Libération, France’s leading left-wing daily newspaper, warned this week that many on the left, who backed Macron in 2017, handing him a landslide election win over France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen, won’t do so again next year. Libération accused Macron of being in “flagrant denial,” saying the French president is “playing with fire” by assuming the left is going to mobilize and vote for him if he again faces Le Pen in a runoff.  FILE – The entrance to France’s newspaper Liberation is seen in Paris, Feb. 20, 2014.Macron is coming under pressure from Le Pen, according to opinion polls, with the far-right leader having closed the gap between them to just 4 percent in a recent survey of voting intentions. Lockdown frustrations and an agonizingly slow rollout of coronavirus vaccines appears to be fueling Le Pen’s support. In 2017, Macron, a centrist outsider and former investment banker, who served as a minister in socialist President François Hollande’s government, was an electoral novice who came from nowhere, founded his own party from scratch and snatched the presidency by crushing Le Pen in a 66 percent to 34 percent victory.  He was helped by crumbling traditional party allegiances, anti-establishment disdain and a squabbling left wing.  Last year, Macron suffered a political reversal when a cabal of mainly left-oriented lawmakers defected from his party, La République En Marche, depriving him of an absolute parliamentary majority. Their defection did not dissuade Macron from continuing a lurch to the right — a move designed to ensure center-right voters remain loyal. He swapped out two center-right politicians as prime minister, replacing Edouard Philippe, a potential presidential rival next year, with Jean Castex, a largely unknown civil servant with little political experience and someone not seen as an electoral cahallenger to Macron. FILE – Former French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe applauds newly appointed Prime Minister Jean Castex in the courtyard of the Matignon Hotel during the handover ceremony in Paris, France, July 3, 2020.Élysée Palace aides say Macron’s best hope of winning a second term in 2022 is to convince voters the choice comes down to him or the far right. He has the benefit of there being no standout from the left or center-right among a field of mediocre would-be presidents — although Philippe remains a potential threat.  FILE – Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives at the courtroom in Paris, Nov. 23, 2020.A possible center-right challenge from Nicolas Sarkozy evaporated this week when the former prime minister was found guilty on corruption charges, dashing any thoughts he might have been entertaining of making a political comeback. Last year, Macron acknowledged in a television interview that he remains unpopular among large parts of the electorate, conceding that in his first three years in office he had alienated some voters because they perceived him as being out of touch with ordinary families.  His concession came after an ugly incident during a walk in the Tuileries Garden in Paris with his wife and their bodyguards, when he was confronted by anti-government yellow-vest protesters, who the day before had demonstrated in favor of a large increase in funding for hospitals and health workers.  They accused the French leader of being responsible for police violence against protesters. They chanted for the president to resign, and he complained they were interrupting his walk.  FILE – Jean-Luc Melenchon speaks to supporters at Place Stalingrad in Paris, April 22, 2012.Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the left-wing France Insoumise party, a likely presidential candidate next year, cited the clash as further evidence of a “decline in the relationship between the president and the people.” In the past few months Macron has been lurching to the right, a swerve, say analysts, based on the assumption by the Élysée Palace that the left would have no option but to vote for him next year. Instead, the focus has been on appealing to the right by toughening Macron’s stance on law-and-order issues.  But a promised clampdown on “Islamist separatism,” part of a bid to woo conservative voters who might be tempted to back Le Pen, has prompted growing unease on the left and center of French politics, seemingly prompting him to swing back and forth from criticizing multiculturalism to embracing racial and cultural diversity. A proposed tough security law, which critics said would shield police from accusations of misconduct by outlawing the sharing of images of officers when they are operational, provoked outrage with tens of thousands protesting in the streets.  The government appeared taken aback by the strength of feeling over the draft measure. And Macron effected a U-turn, instructing his ministers to rewrite the law completely. Macron has seen some benefits from his emphasis on law and order, and also from his much tougher rhetoric on illegal immigration, with steady improvements in his popularity ratings. But he and his government have been buffeted by public disapproval of the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with 60 percent of the public deeming it to have been incompetent, according to a poll published last month.  FILE – Leader of France’s National Rally Party Marine Le Pen speaks during a news conference in Milan, Italy, May 18, 2019.Le Pen has been on the attack, accusing the government of acting “like a dead dog floating along in the water” in its handling of the pandemic.  In a recent radio interview she said: “We have the feeling of being knocked around without ever anticipating, without ever looking ahead, without ever taking the decisions that allow us to avoid, when it’s possible, lockdown number 1, number 2 or number 3.” Macron’s green credentials also have been challenged. On Wednesday, a new climate bill sent to parliament was criticized by environmental groups. They say it is not radical enough to see France meet its goals for cutting emissions. The draft measure, which incorporates many recommendations from citizens assembly of 150 randomly chosen citizens guided by experts, aims to cut French carbon emissions by 40 percent in 2030 from 1990 levels.  The Élysée Palace says the proposed measure will lead voters to conclude the French president is serious about fulfilling a pledge to “make our planet great again.” 
 
…

France will now vaccinate people aged 65 years and older with the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by Oxford University and British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca.   The decision was announced Tuesday by Health Minister Olivier Veran during a televised interview.  Veran said anyone older than the age of 50 with pre-existing conditions can receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, “including those between 65 and 74.” France was among many European nations that refused to approve the Oxford-AstraZeneca for its elderly citizens.  The developers did not enroll many people in those age groups for their large-scale clinical trials, leading to a lack of data about its potential efficacy.  French President Emmanuel Macron even went so far as describing the vaccine as “quasi-ineffective.”   FILE – A medical worker holds a vial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in a mass vaccination center at the Cecchignola military compound, in Rome, Italy, Feb. 23, 2021.But health officials say further data from clinical trials has proved its efficacy among older people.  The reversal is sure to jumpstart France’s slow vaccination campaign, which has been hampered by a shortage of vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.  France’s change of heart coincides with a real-world study conducted in Britain that found the COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford University-AstraZeneca are highly effective in protecting elderly people from the disease after receiving just one shot. Researchers at Public Health England say the respective two-dose vaccines are more than 80% effective at preventing people in their 80s from being hospitalized around three to four weeks after the first shot is administered.  FILE – A woman receives the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine at the Pasteur Institute during a vaccination program, in Paris, Jan. 21, 2021.The study also found that the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was between 57% and 61% effective in preventing COVID-19 infections among people at least 70 years old, while the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was between 60% and 73% effective. The study, posted online Monday, has not undergone the customary peer-review process.  Britain was the first European country to approve the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for all of its citizens regardless of age.   US sticks to two-dose regimenIn the United States, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told The Washington Post  Tuesday the United States will stick with the two-dose regimen of both the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna vaccines. A growing number of public health experts have urged government health officials to use millions of doses intended to be used as second shots instead be used as first doses, as millions of adult Americans have not been inoculated due to an acute shortage of vaccines. But Dr. Fauci warned that switching to a single-dose strategy could leave people less protected and enable the growing number of variants to spread.  FILE – Workers for the U.S. federal government prepare the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines at a new mass vaccination center in Oakland, California, Feb. 16, 2021.The nation’s leading infectious-disease expert tells the Post that “the gap between supply and demand is going to be diminished and then overcome” very soon as both Pfizer and Moderna fulfill their commitment to provide 220 million total doses by the end of March, along with Johnson & Johnson’s pledge to deliver 20 million doses of its one-shot COVID-19 vaccine this month.   New cases on the riseThe World Health Organization said new coronavirus cases increased globally for the first time in seven weeks, and officials expressed concern that cases could again rise significantly.      “We need to have a stern warning for all of us that this virus will rebound if we let it,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead for COVID-19, said Monday at a news briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva.     WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the rise in cases occurred in four regions: the Americas, the eastern Mediterranean, Europe and Southeast Asia. He said the development was “disappointing but not surprising” and said part of the spike appeared to be the result of the “relaxing of public health measures.”     FILE – Health staff attends to a patient at the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) dedicated ICU unit of the Tras-Os-Montes E Alto Douro Hospital, amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Vila Real, Portugal, Feb. 22, 2021.Michael Ryan, director of WHO’s emergencies program, said, “Right now, the virus is very much in control” and said it was “unrealistic” to think the pandemic might be stopped by the end of the year.     The warnings come after a sharp fall of coronavirus cases and deaths in many parts of the world, which along with vaccine developments, had led to hopes that the spread of the coronavirus would continue on a downward trend.     In the United States, health officials are warning that another surge in cases could be on the horizon, as newer and more infectious variants of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 are growing more frequently.      The new upward trend in cases comes as most states are easing coronavirus restrictions.  
…

The United States is  expected to impose sanctions to punish Russia for the poisoning  of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny as early as Tuesday, two  sources familiar with the matter said.President Joe Biden’s decision to impose sanctions for Navalny’s poisoning reflects a harder stance than taken by his predecessor, Donald Trump, who let the incident last August pass without punitive U.S. action.The Kremlin said on Tuesday that any new U.S. sanctions over the treatment of  Navalny would not achieve their goal and would merely worsen already strained relations.Navalny fell ill on a flight in Siberia in August and was airlifted to Germany, where doctors concluded he had been poisoned with a nerve agent. The Kremlin has denied any role in his illness and said it had seen no proof he was poisoned.The sources said on Monday on condition of anonymity that the United States was expected to act under two executive orders: 13661, which was issued after Russia’s invasion of Crimea but provides broad authority to target Russian officials, and 13382, issued in 2005 to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.Both orders let the United States freeze the U.S. assets of those targeted and effectively bar U.S. companies and individuals from dealing with them.The sources said the Biden administration also planned to act under the U.S. Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991, which provides a menu of punitive measures.The sources said some individuals would be targeted in the sanctions to be announced as early as Tuesday, but declined to name them or say what other sanctions may be imposed.
They added, however, that Washington would maintain waivers allowing foreign aid and certain export licenses for Russia.The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the possibility of sanctions.A third source said the U.S. action may be coordinated with sanctions the European Union could apply as soon as Tuesday.EU foreign ministers agreed on Feb. 22 to impose sanctions on four senior Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin in a mainly symbolic response to Navalny’s jailing. The EU was expected to formally approve those in early March.In the case of Navalny, Trump, whose term ended in January, did nothing to punish Russia. Top U.N. human rights experts said on Monday that Moscow was to blame for attempting to kill Navalny as part of a pattern of attacks on critics to quash dissent.After his medical treatment in Germany, Navalny, 44, returned to Russia in January. He was arrested and later sentenced to more than 2-1/2 years in jail for parole violations he said were trumped up.Biden last month called the jailing of Navalny “politically motivated” and called for his release. He has pledged a new and tough approach toward Moscow, saying the United States would no longer be “rolling over” in the face of aggressive action by Russia.Washington and Moscow disagree on a wide range of issues on top of Navalny, such as Russia’s military ambitions in Ukraine and Georgia, as well as a cyberattack on U.S. government agencies last year that Washington blames on Russia. Moscow has denied responsibility for the hacking campaign.
…

The Pentagon appears to be making good on Washington’s pledge to help Ukraine stand up to what the United States has described as “Russian aggression.” The Defense Department announced Monday a $125 million aid package for Kyiv as part of its ongoing Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. A Pentagon statement said the package includes two armed Mark VI patrol boats to help Ukraine “patrol and defend its territorial waters.”It also includes additional training, counter-artillery radars, medical support, and satellite imagery and analysis, and improvements that will allow Ukraine to improve interoperability with NATO. FILE – Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks during a media briefing, Feb. 17, 2021.”This action reaffirms the U.S. commitment to providing defensive lethal weapons to enable Ukraine to more effectively defend itself,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters Monday. The two patrol boats will give Kyiv a total of eight such vessels to operate in Ukrainian waters. According to the boat’s manufacturer, the vessels are designed to patrol in shallow waters, as well as around harbors and bays.  Last June, the State Department approved the sale of up to 16 of the patrol boats to Ukraine, along with gun systems and infrared radar, for an estimated cost of $600 million. The aid announced Monday is just the first part of a larger $275 million package approved by Congress for fiscal year 2021. The Defense Department said the final $150 million would be released once the State Department “certifies that Ukraine has made sufficient progress on key defense reforms.” “We obviously continue to encourage Ukraine to continue to enact reforms, to modernize the defense sector in line with NATO principles and standards,” Kirby said. Those reforms include an increased focus on civilian control of the military and continued modernization of Ukraine’s defense sector. During an address at the virtual Munich Security Conference last month, U.S. President Joe Biden called standing up for Ukraine’s territorial integrity a “vital concern.” 
 
…

The European Union’s executive arm said Monday it will propose rules for a passport to allow those who have been vaccinated or recently tested for COVID-19 to travel for work or tourism throughout the region.From her Twitter account, EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said legislation will be presented later this month for the digital pass, which she called a “green pass,” that hopefully could help EU member nations rebuild their tourism industries.Following last week’s EU summit, where the idea was first discussed, Von der Leyen said the vaccine certificate could be launched in three months’ time, and that the pass would uphold data protection standards.“Green pass” is the term used in Israel for the for a digital or paper document issues to allow the bearer to prove they have been inoculated and can therefore enter entertainment, sporting and dining venues.There is a debate, however, among EU member nations, with some arguing it may be premature to issue such “passports” as it’s unclear how much protection vaccines give against transmission.Others have argued about the fairness of allowing only those who have had access to vaccines to travel while many others must still live under restrictions.The commission said last week it would seek to avoid discrimination against citizens who have not received a vaccine.
…

A Paris court on Monday found French former President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of corruption and influence peddling and sentenced him to one year in prison and a two-year suspended sentence.The 66-year-old politician, who was president from 2007 to 2012, was convicted for having tried to illegally obtain information from a senior magistrate in 2014 about a legal action in which he was involved.The court said Sarkozy is entitled to request to be detained at home with an electronic bracelet.This is the first time in France’s modern history that a former president has been convicted of corruption.Sarkozy’s co-defendants — his lawyer and longtime friend Thierry Herzog, 65, and now-retired magistrate Gilbert Azibert, 74 — were also found guilty and given the same sentence as the politician.The court found that Sarkozy and his co-defendants sealed a “pact of corruption,” based on “consistent and serious evidence”.The court said the facts were “particularly serious” given that they were committed by a former president who used his status to help a magistrate who had served his personal interest. In addition, as a lawyer by training, he was “perfectly informed” about committing an illegal action, the court said.Sarkozy had firmly denied all the allegations against him during the 10-day trial that took place at the end of last year.The corruption trial focused on phone conversations that took place in February 2014.At the time, investigative judges had launched an inquiry into the financing of the 2007 presidential campaign. During the investigation they incidentally discovered that Sarkozy and Herzog were communicating via secret mobile phones registered to the alias “Paul Bismuth.”Conversations wiretapped on these phones led prosecutors to suspect Sarkozy and Herzog of promising Azibert a job in Monaco in exchange for leaking information about another legal case, known by the name of France’s richest woman, L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.In one of these phone calls with Herzog, Sarkozy said of Azibert : “I’ll make him move up … I’ll help him.”In another, Herzog reminded Sarkozy to “say a word” for Azibert during a trip to Monaco.Legal proceedings against Sarkozy have been dropped in the Bettencourt case. Azibert never got the Monaco job.Prosecutors have concluded, however, that the “clearly stated promise” constitutes in itself a corruption offense under French law, even if the promise wasn’t fulfilled.Sarkozy vigorously denied any malicious intention.He told the court that his political life was all about “giving (people) a little help. That all it is, a little help,” he said during the trial.The confidentiality of communications between a lawyer and his client was a major point of contention in the trial.“You have in front of you a man of whom more that 3,700 private conversations have been wiretapped… What did I do to deserve that?” Sarkozy said during the trial.Sarkozy’s defense lawyer, Jacqueline Laffont, argued the whole case was based on “small talk” between a lawyer and his client.The court concluded that the use of wiretapped conversations was legal as long as they helped show evidence of corruption-related offenses.Sarkozy withdrew from active politics after failing to be chosen as his conservative party’s presidential candidate for France’s 2017 election, won by Emmanuel Macron.He remains very popular amid right-wing voters, however, and plays a major role behind the scenes, including through maintaining a relationship with Macron, whom he is said to advise on certain topics. His memoirs published last year, “The Time of Storms,” was a bestseller for weeks.Sarkozy will face another trial later this month along with 13 other people on charges of illegal financing of his 2012 presidential campaign.His conservative party is suspected of having spent 42.8 million euros ($50.7 million), almost twice the maximum authorized, to finance the campaign, which ended in victory for Socialist rival Francois Hollande.In another investigation opened in 2013, Sarkozy is accused of having taken millions from then-Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi to illegally finance his 2007 campaign.He was handed preliminary charges of passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, concealment of stolen assets from Libya and criminal association. He has denied wrongdoing.
…

Prince Philip has been transferred to another London hospital to continue treatment for an infection, Buckingham Palace said Monday.The palace says Philip, the 99-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II, was transferred from King Edward VII’s Hospital to St Bartholomew’s Hospital. The Bart’s Heart Centre is Europe’s biggest specialized cardiovascular center, the National Health Service said.In addition to treatment for an unspecified infection, he will also undergo testing and observation for a pre-existing heart condition, the palace said.The palace says Philip “remains comfortable and is responding to treatment but is expected to remain in hospital until at least the end of the week.’Philip was admitted to the private King Edward VII’s Hospital last month after feeling ill. Philip’s illness is not believed to be related to COVID-19. Both he and the queen, 94, received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine in early January.Philip, who retired from royal duties in 2017, rarely appears in public. During England’s current coronavirus lockdown, Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, has been staying at Windsor Castle, west of London, with the queen.Philip married the then-Princess Elizabeth in 1947 and is the longest-serving royal consort in British history. He and the queen have four children, eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
…

Infectious disease experts are expressing concern about Pope Francis’ upcoming trip to Iraq, given a sharp rise in coronavirus infections there, a fragile health care system and the unavoidable likelihood that Iraqis will crowd to see him.No one wants to tell Francis to call it off, and the Iraqi government has every interest in showing off its relative stability by welcoming the first pope to the birthplace of Abraham. The March 5-8 trip is expected to provide a sorely-needed spiritual boost to Iraq’s beleaguered Christians while furthering the Vatican’s bridge-building efforts with the Muslim world.But from a purely epidemiological standpoint, as well as the public health message it sends, a papal trip to Iraq amid a global pandemic is not advisable, health experts say.Their concerns were reinforced with the news Sunday that the Vatican ambassador to Iraq, the main point person for the trip who would have escorted Francis to all his appointments, tested positive for COVID-19 and was self-isolating.In an email to The Associated Press, the embassy said Archbishop Mitja Leskovar’s symptoms were mild and that he was continuing to prepare for Francis’ visit.Beyond his case, experts note that wars, economic crises and an exodus of Iraqi professionals have devastated the country’s hospital system, while studies show most of Iraq’s new COVID-19 infections are the highly-contagious variant first identified in Britain.“I just don’t think it’s a good idea,” said Dr. Navid Madani, virologist and founding director of the Center for Science Health Education in the Middle East and North Africa at Harvard Medical School’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.The Iranian-born Madani co-authored an article in The Lancet last year on the region’s uneven response to COVID-19, noting that Iraq, Syria and Yemen were poorly placed to cope, given they are still struggling with extremist insurgencies and have 40 million people who need humanitarian aid.Christians volunteers decorate streets with the pictures of Pope Francis, ahead of his planned visit to to Iraq, in Qaraqosh, Iraq, Feb. 22, 2021.In a telephone interview, Madani said Middle Easterners are known for their hospitality, and cautioned that the enthusiasm among Iraqis of welcoming a peace-maker like Francis to a neglected, war-torn part of the world might lead to inadvertent violations of virus control measures.“This could potentially lead to unsafe or superspreading risks,” she said.Dr. Bharat Pankhania, an infectious disease control expert at the University of Exeter College of Medicine, concurred.“It’s a perfect storm for generating lots of cases which you won’t be able to deal with,” he said.Organizers promise to enforce mask mandates, social distancing and crowd limits, as well as the possibility of increased testing sites, two Iraqi government officials said.The health care protocols are “critical but can be managed,” one government official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity.And the Vatican has taken its own precautions, with the 84-year-old pope, his 20-member Vatican entourage and the 70-plus journalists on the papal plane all vaccinated.But the Iraqis gathering in the north, center and south of the country to attend Francis’ indoor and outdoor Masses, hear his speeches and participate in his prayer meetings are not vaccinated.And that, scientists say, is the problem.“We are in the middle of a global pandemic. And it is important to get the correct messages out,” Pankhania said. “The correct messages are: the less interactions with fellow human beings, the better.”He questioned the optics of the Vatican delegation being inoculated while the Iraqis are not, and noted that Iraqis would only take such risks to go to those events because the pope was there.In words addressed to Vatican officials and the media, he said: “You are all protected from severe disease. So if you get infected, you’re not going to die. But the people coming to see you may get infected and may die.”“Is it wise under that circumstance for you to just turn up? And because you turn up, people turn up to see you and they get infected?” he asked.The World Health Organization was diplomatic when asked about the wisdom of a papal trip to Iraq, saying countries should evaluate the risk of an event against the infection situation, and then decide if it should be postponed. “It’s all about managing that risk,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19. “It’s about looking at the epidemiologic situation in the country and then making sure that if that event is to take place, that it can take place as safely as possible.”Francis has said he intends to go even if most Iraqis have to watch him on television to avoid infection. The important thing, he told Catholic News Service, is “they will see that the pope is there in their country.”Francis has frequently called for an equitable distribution of vaccines and respect for government health measures, though he tends to not wear face masks. Francis for months has eschewed even socially distanced public audiences at the Vatican to limit the chance of contagion.Dr. Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton’s Faculty of Medicine, said the number of new daily cases in Iraq is “increasing significantly at the moment” with the Health Ministry reporting around 4,000 a day, close to the height of its first wave in September.Head said for any trip to Iraq, there must be infection control practices in force, including mask-wearing, hand-washing, social distancing and good ventilation in indoor spaces.“Hopefully we will see proactive approaches to infection control in place during the pope’s visit to Baghdad,” he said.The Iraqi government imposed a modified lockdown and curfew in mid-February amid a new surge in cases, closing schools and mosques and leaving restaurants and cafes only open for takeout. But the government decided against a full shutdown because of the difficulty of enforcing it and the financial impact on Iraq’s battered economy, the Iraqi officials told AP.Many Iraqis remain lax in using masks and some doubt the severity of the virus.Madani, the Harvard virologist, urged trip organizers to let science and data guide their decision-making.A decision to reschedule or postpone the papal trip, or move it to a virtual format, would “be quite impactful from a global leadership standpoint” because “it would signal prioritizing the safety of Iraq’s public,” she said. 
…

Church bells rang and a World War II-era plane flew Saturday over the funeral for Captain Tom Moore, the veteran who single-handedly raised millions of pounds for Britain’s health workers by walking laps in his backyard.Soldiers performed ceremonial duties at the private service for Moore, who died February 2 at age 100 after testing positive for COVID-19. Captain Tom, as he became known, inspired the U.K. during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic with his humble endeavor that raised almost 33 million pounds ($46 million) for Britain’s National Health Service last year.The funeral cortege of Captain Tom Moore arrives at Bedford Crematorium, in Bedford, England, Feb. 27, 2021.The service was small, attended by eight members of the veteran’s immediate family. But soldiers carried his coffin, draped in the Union flag, and formed a ceremonial guard. Others performed a gun salute before a C-47 Dakota military transport plane flew past.A Dakota performs a flyby at the funeral of Captain Tom Moore, in Bedford, England, Feb. 27, 2021.”Daddy, you always told us, ‘Best foot forward,’ and true to your word, that’s what you did last year,” Moore’s daughter Lucy Teixeira said at the service. “I know you will be watching us, chuckling, saying, ‘Don’t be too sad as something has to get you in the end.’ “His other daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, said the world was “enthralled” by her father’s “spirit of hope, positivity and resilience.””They, too, saw your belief in kindness and the fundamental goodness of the human spirit,” she said.The service featured music that reflected the man being honored, opening with the rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone that Moore recorded for charity with Michael Ball and the NHS Voices of Care Choir. The song topped the U.K. singles charts last April.Singer Michael Bublé recorded a version of Smile for the funeral, and as requested by Moore, Frank Sinatra’s My Way was played. A bugler sounded The Last Post to close the service.A church in Bedfordshire, England, where the family is based, rang its bell 100 times in Moore’s honor. A post on Moore’s Twitter account invited his admirers to remember him Saturday with a cup of tea and a slice of Victoria sponge cake.Moore, who served in India, Burma and Sumatra during World War II, set out to raise a modest 1,000 pounds for Britain’s NHS by walking 100 laps of his backyard by his 100th birthday last year. But donations poured in from across Britain and beyond as his quest went viral, catching the imagination of millions stuck at home during the first wave of the pandemic.FILE – In this July 17, 2020, photo, Captain Tom Moore poses for the media after receiving his knighthood from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, during a ceremony at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England.His positive attitude — “Please remember, tomorrow will be a good day” became his trademark phrase — inspired the nation at a time of crisis. Prime Minister Boris Johnson described him as a “hero in the truest sense of the word.”He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in July in a socially distanced ceremony at Windsor Castle, west of London. 
…

Officials at the Pompeii archaeological site in Italy announced Saturday the discovery of an intact ceremonial chariot, one of several important discoveries made in the same area outside the park near Naples following an investigation into an illegal dig.The chariot, with its iron elements, bronze decorations and mineralized wooden remains, was found in the ruins of a settlement north of Pompeii, beyond the walls of the ancient city, parked in the portico of a stable where the remains of three horses previously were discovered.The Archaeological Park of Pompeii called the chariot “an exceptional discovery” and said “it represents a unique find — which has no parallel in Italy thus far — in an excellent state of preservation.”A detail of the decoration of a chariot that was found in Civita Giuliana, north of Pompeii. Officials at the Pompeii archaeological site near Naples announced its discovery Feb. 27, 2021.The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD destroyed Pompeii. The chariot was spared when the walls and roof of the structure it was in collapsed, and also survived looting by modern-day antiquities thieves, who had dug tunnels through to the site, grazing but not damaging the four-wheeled cart, according to park officials.The chariot was found on the grounds of what is one of the most significant ancient villas in the area around Vesuvius, with a panoramic view of the Mediterranean Sea, on the outskirts of the ancient Roman city.Archaeologists last year found in the same area on the outskirts of Pompeii, Civita Giulian, the skeletal remains of what are believed to have been a wealthy man and his male slave, attempting to escape death.The chariot’s first iron element emerged January 7 from the blanket of volcanic material filling the two-story portico. Archaeologists believe the cart was used for festivities and parades, perhaps also to carry brides to their new homes.While chariots for daily life or the transport of agricultural products have been previously found at Pompeii, officials said the new find is the first ceremonial chariot unearthed in its entirety.The villa was discovered after police came across the illegal tunnels in 2017, officials said. Two people who live in the houses atop the site are on trial for allegedly digging more than 80 meters of tunnels at the site.  
…

Armenian President Armen Sarkissian has refused to fire the head of the general staff of the country’s armed forces after he was dismissed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the presidential office said Saturday.
 
Pashinyan dismissed the head of the general staff, Onik Gasparyan, Thursday after what he had called an attempted coup to remove him, but the move had to be signed off by the president.
 
According to the president’s statement, posted on the presidential office website, the move to dismiss Gasparyan was unconstitutional.
 
The army has called for the resignation of Pashinyan and his government after what critics say was the disastrous handling of a bloody six-week conflict between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh last year.
 
…

As some countries struggle to get enough COVID-19 vaccine, China has intensified efforts to distribute its vaccine in the Balkans. Some experts say it’s an effort to increase the county’s influence in the region. Dino Jahic and Amer Jahic have the story, narrated by Anna Rice.
Camera: Dino Jahic
…