RIYADMEDIA

Scientists are warning that a variant of the novel coronavirus that was first detected in Brazil could reinfect people already recovering from COVID-19.  The P.1 variant has spread to more than 20 countries since it was first detected last November in the Amazonian region city of Manaus.  A joint study by scientists in Britain and Brazil says the variant is 1.4 to 2.4 times more transmissible than the original version of the coronavirus.  Manaus was struck by an initial wave of COVID-19 infections in April and May of last year.  According to researchers, by October almost 80% of recovering coronavirus patients should have developed antibodies that would have made them immune to the virus. Peru will Receive a Second Vaccine Wednesday to Battle COVID-19Peru to receive the first batch of 50,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine Wednesday    But 25% to 61% of those who had recovered from a first bout of COVID-19 were reinfected with the P.1 variant, according to the study, which has not been peer-reviewed.Scientists are worried that new and more infectious variants of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 could be resistant to vaccine now being distributed around the world.  But Nuno Faria, a virologist at Imperial College London who co-led the study, says it is too early to determine if the situation in Brazil with the P.1 variant will also occur elsewhere.  The release of the study on the P.1 variant coincided with official data from Brazil showing it had recorded its highest single-day number of COVID-19 deaths with 1,641.The COVID-19 pandemic has sickened more than 114.8 million people around the globe since it was first detected in central China in late 2019, including 2.5 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center.The pandemic has also led to what the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has described as an “education emergency,” with more than 168 million children around the world locked out of the classroom for nearly a year.   UNICEF says 98 million children across Latin America and the Caribbean account for the majority of students who have missed in-person learning.  U.S. country music superstar Dolly Parton tried to inject hope and encouragement Tuesday as she was injected with her first dose of the Moderna vaccine. In a short video she posted on Twitter, the 75-year-old singer-songwriter received the vaccine at Vanderbilt University Health Center in Nashville, Tennessee.Dolly gets a dose of her own medicine. @VUMChealthpic.twitter.com/38kJrDzLqC— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) March 2, 2021Before getting the shot, Parton revamped one of her most famous songs, “Jolene,” to encourage viewers to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
…

An Ontario Superior Court justice Wednesday found a man who allegedly used his rental van as a weapon guilty of murder and attempted murder.  
 
Alek Minassian, who was accused of using his rental van to deliberately drive though crowds of people on Toronto’s Yonge Street, killing 10 and injuring 16 others, has been found guilty on 10 counts of murder and 16 counts of attempted murder.  
 
Justice Anne Molloy rejected Minassian’s argument that his autism spectrum disorder rendered him “incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act” or of “knowing that it was wrong.” Malloy ruled that Minassian understood what he was doing, despite the conclusion of experts who said he was incapable of feeling empathy.  
 
“This was the exercise of free will by a rational brain, capable of choosing between right and wrong. He freely chose the option that was morally wrong, knowing what the consequences would be for himself, and for everybody else,” said Molloy.  
 
Molloy added that when Minassian was asked after the attack how he felt about killing and injuring those in the attack, he replied: “I feel like I accomplished my mission.”
 
Calling it “one of the most devastating tragedies this city has ever endured,” Molloy read out the names and listed the injuries of all 26 victims, adding that Minassian planned and carried out the attack purposely to achieve fame.  
 
Throughout her verdict, Molloy refused to address the defendant by name, opting to call him “John Doe.”
 
The attack in April of 2018 lasted four minutes and reportedly threw bodies as far as 26 feet into the air, while dragging others under the vehicle.
…

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.
…

Bolivia’s special crime unit is investigating the circumstances of the death of at least seven students, who fell from their fourth-floor university building after a metal railing collapsed. Five other students were seriously injured in Tuesday’s incident at the El Alto University near the capital, La Paz. Video footage prior the incident showed a crowd of students pushing and shoving on a narrow walkway when the rail suddenly gave way, sending the victims plunging to the concrete below.  Some students managed to cling to others near the edge of the walkway before being pulled to safety.    The victims ranged in age from 19 to 27, according to Bolivia’s Special Force to Fight Crime. Reuter’s reports that local media said prior to the incident the students were involved in a tense meeting at the university, which included some physical altercations. 
…

Scientists are warning that a variant of the novel coronavirus that was first detected in Brazil could reinfect people already recovering from COVID-19.  The P.1 variant has spread to more than 20 countries since it was first detected last November in the Amazonian region city of Manaus.  A joint study by scientists in Britain and Brazil says the variant is 1.4 to 2.4 times more transmissible than the original version of the coronavirus.  Manaus was struck by an initial wave of COVID-19 infections in April and May of last year.  According to researchers, by October almost 80% of recovering coronavirus patients should have developed antibodies that would have made them immune to the virus. Peru will Receive a Second Vaccine Wednesday to Battle COVID-19Peru to receive the first batch of 50,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine Wednesday    But 25% to 61% of those who had recovered from a first bout of COVID-19 were reinfected with the P.1 variant, according to the study, which has not been peer-reviewed.Scientists are worried that new and more infectious variants of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 could be resistant to vaccine now being distributed around the world.  But Nuno Faria, a virologist at Imperial College London who co-led the study, says it is too early to determine if the situation in Brazil with the P.1 variant will also occur elsewhere.  The release of the study on the P.1 variant coincided with official data from Brazil showing it had recorded its highest single-day number of COVID-19 deaths with 1,641.The COVID-19 pandemic has sickened more than 114.8 million people around the globe since it was first detected in central China in late 2019, including 2.5 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center.The pandemic has also led to what the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has described as an “education emergency,” with more than 168 million children around the world locked out of the classroom for nearly a year.   UNICEF says 98 million children across Latin America and the Caribbean account for the majority of students who have missed in-person learning.  U.S. country music superstar Dolly Parton tried to inject hope and encouragement Tuesday as she was injected with her first dose of the Moderna vaccine. In a short video she posted on Twitter, the 75-year-old singer-songwriter received the vaccine at Vanderbilt University Health Center in Nashville, Tennessee.Dolly gets a dose of her own medicine. @VUMChealthpic.twitter.com/38kJrDzLqC— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) March 2, 2021Before getting the shot, Parton revamped one of her most famous songs, “Jolene,” to encourage viewers to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
…

Bolivia’s special crime unit is investigating the circumstances of the death of at least seven students, who fell from their fourth-floor university building after a metal railing collapsed. Five other students were seriously injured in Tuesday’s incident at the El Alto University near the capital, La Paz. Video footage prior the incident showed a crowd of students pushing and shoving on a narrow walkway when the rail suddenly gave way, sending the victims plunging to the concrete below.  Some students managed to cling to others near the edge of the walkway before being pulled to safety.    The victims ranged in age from 19 to 27, according to Bolivia’s Special Force to Fight Crime. Reuter’s reports that local media said prior to the incident the students were involved in a tense meeting at the university, which included some physical altercations. 
…

Peru is getting another weapon in its battle against the spread of COVID-19 on Wednesday. President Francisco Sagasti said his country will receive the first batch of 50,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer Wednesday evening, with an equal amount arriving the rest of the week. Peru expects to receive five million doses of the Pfizer vaccine by June after reaching an agreement early last month.  Sagasti said Peru will now have two different vaccines to fight the virus, which has propelled the country to one the most impacted in Latin America. Peru began the first round immunization last month after receiving 300,000 doses of vaccine from China’s Sinopoharm laboratory. The Peruvian leader also said that doses of vaccine from the World Health Organization’s COVAX initiative are pending.  The WHO program provides vaccines to low- and middle-income countries that have difficulty acquiring doses because of the limited global supply and logistical problems.  So far, Peru has confirmed more than 1,329,000 infections and 46,494 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University Covid Resource Center. 
…

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.
…

As the United States loosens its immigration policies under President Joe Biden, leaders of Canada’s thriving tech sector may find they have to work a little harder to attract top international talent.“The effect of the Biden administration is not seen as yet,” says Toronto-based financial services executive Soumya Ghosh.Nevertheless, Canadian tech firms have been clear beneficiaries of America’s restrictive immigration policies under former President Donald Trump, finding themselves able to hire highly skilled workers from around the world who might otherwise have headed for jobs in the United States.The influx of skilled workers helped to make Toronto the fastest-growing center for technology jobs in North America in recent years, according to a January 2020 report by the U.S. business analysis firm CBRE, a global service and investment firm. Canada’s Pacific coast city of Vancouver also made the top five, along with San Francisco, New York and Seattle.FILE PHOTO: An employee works at Shopify’s headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Oct. 22, 2018.Standouts in the Canadian tech sector include homegrown companies such as e-commerce company Shopify which says it supports 1.7 million businesses in 175 countries. The ease of hiring international talent has also made Canada more attractive to global giants such as Google which in February 2020 announced plans to triple its workforce in the country.While Trump’s stated policy goal was to prioritize high-skilled workers under a “merit-based” immigration system, U.S. visa issuance fell for almost all categories of recipients during his administration, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic struck.The Biden administration said this week it has still not decided whether to extend a Trump-era temporary ban on new H-1B visas, the most commonly used visa under which highly skilled tech workers can come to the United States.But even if some immigration restrictions are lifted, analysts in Canada believe there are other reasons their sector will continue to attract top talent.’Cost advantage’“Canada also has a cost advantage,” argued Ghosh, who is vice president and Canada market unit head for banking and capital markets at Capgemini Financial Services. “In addition to being in the same time zone as the U.S., U.S.-based employers also can leverage the Canadian tech talent pool being in the same time zone at a lower cost.”The global coronavirus pandemic has also benefited the sector, according to Alexander Norman, co-founder of TechTO, a resource center for newly arrived tech workers in Toronto.“Canada has always produced talent but over the last several years that talent has decided to stay home and build new companies here,” Norman told VOA. “We are starting to see the result of this switch with leading tech companies in many different sectors.”Norman’s co-founder on TechTO, Jason Goldlist, said the widespread shift to telework because of the pandemic has also been a factor.“COVID shifted many professional industries online, but none more than tech,” he said. “Now, they can work for a huge company like Twitter from anywhere they want. Including their hometown in Canada.”Commitment to immigrationBut for many tech experts and executives interviewed by VOA, no factor has been more important in Canada’s tech boom than its commitment to immigration, including robust refugee resettlement and a vibrant community of international students.“We have one of the best immigration systems in the world,” maintained Robert Asselin, a senior political adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his rise to power in 2015 and Canada’s budget and policy director under Finance Minister Bill Morneau from 2015 to 2017. “Mobility is possible. Second generation immigrants do better consistently.”Asselin, who was born and raised in a Francophone part of Quebec, said he credits Canada’s successes to the openness formed through a long-standing effort to be a multilingual country. Canada’s official languages are French and English.“We’re really good at integrating diversity and leveraging diversity as a strength, and when you think about the future of businesses you want all talent to come to your country,” he said.“I think that we’re one of the best places to immigrate from around the world. If people want to come here and have the best shot at success, I think we’re one of the best countries to do that.”Canada’s only land border is with the United States, making it relatively easy to prevent uncontrolled migration and focus on welcoming high-skilled workers and refugees at an orderly pace. Waves of mostly low-skilled migrants arriving at the U.S. southern border have been a polarizing factor in America’s immigration debate.Ghosh agreed that immigration has played a big role in the economic development of Canada.“When it comes to the technology scene, a lot of the development that has happened in the tech space, the demand from Canadian enterprises, quite significantly depends on smart people coming from different parts of the globe.”Diversity and inclusivity initiativesPart of this effort to court the world’s best and brightest includes diversity and inclusivity initiatives.In Halifax, the biggest city on Canada’s Atlantic coast, a tech start-up, Side Door, has a working group “that works internally on anti-racist and anti-oppression policies,” said CEO and co-founder Laura Simpson.Side Door works to link artists such as musicians and help them find venues. Simpson says the goal is “to connect artists with curators, venues, service providers and audiences to make booking, ticketing and payments easy, fair and transparent.”“If you’re trying to create a global company, how are you going to do that without having globally minded people?” she asked in an interview. “We’ve worked with recruits toward having a global workforce and now we work with people all over the world. And that’s the way of the future.”
…

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.” 
 
…

Bunny Wailer, a reggae luminary who was the last surviving member of the legendary group The Wailers, died on Tuesday in his native Jamaica, according to his manager. He was 73.
Wailer, a baritone singer whose birth name is Neville Livingston, formed The Wailers in 1963 with late superstars Bob Marley and Peter Tosh when they lived in a slum in the capital of Kingston.
They first recorded catapulted to international fame with the album, “Catch a Fire.” In addition to their music, the Wailers and other Rasta musicians popularized Rastafarian culture among better-off Jamaicans starting in the 1970s.
Wailer’s death was mourned worldwide as people shared pictures, music and memories of the renown artist.
“The passing of Bunny Wailer, the last of the original Wailers, brings to a close the most vibrant period of Jamaica’s musical experience,” wrote Jamaica politician Peter Phillips in a Facebook post. “Bunny was a good, conscious Jamaican brethren.”
Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, also paid tribute to Wailer, calling him “a respected elder statesman of the Jamaican music scene,” in a series of tweets.  
“This is a great loss for Jamaica and for Reggae, undoubtedly Bunny Wailer will always be remembered for his sterling contribution to the music industry and Jamaica’s culture,” he wrote.
While Wailer toured the world, he was more at home in Jamaica’s mountains and he enjoyed farming while writing and recording songs on his label, Solomonic.
“I think I love the country actually a little bit more than the city,” Wailer told The Associated Press in 1989. “It has more to do with life, health and strength. The city takes that away sometimes. The country is good for meditation. It has fresh food and fresh atmosphere – that keeps you going.”
A year before, in 1988, he had chartered a jet and flew to Jamaica with food to help those affected by Hurricane Gilbert.
“Sometimes people pay less attention to those things (food) but they turn out to be the most important things. I am a farmer,” he told the AP.
The three-time Grammy winner died at the Andrews Memorial Hospital in the Jamaican parish of St Andrew, his manager, Maxine Stowe, told reporters. His cause of death was not immediately clear. Local newspapers had reported he was in and out of the hospital after a stroke nearly a year ago.
 
…

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.
…

Officials in Jamaica say citizens and visitors to the island must now present a negative COVID-19 test result no greater than three days before their travel date this week. Right now, visitors to Jamaica have 10 days to submit a negative COVID-19 result to enter the island. The new initiative, which takes effect Thursday, is part of the government’s effort to curtail a surge in cases. Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ ban on funerals and burials for two weeks beginning March 7 through the 22 is attracting the most concern, with opposition politicians and funeral service providers saying the delay in burials will cause financial hardships.  The prime minister said funerals already scheduled through March 7 can proceed as planned, with a maximum of 15 people, including the funeral service staff.  The capacity at weddings is being reduced by half from 50 to 25 people. Jamaica also extended the ban on direct flights from United Kingdom to March 22. The latest restrictions come as Holness said the country has confirmed just over 1,800 cases in the past week. So far, Jamaica has confirmed more than 23,200 COVID-19 infections and 422 deaths since the start of the pandemic.  
…

March 21st will mark a full year that the Canada-U. S. border has been closed to all but essential traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Canada-U.S. border is the largest undefended boundary in the world at 8,891 kilometers. There are 117 legal points of entry that have been closed to tourist and personal, or “nonessential” travel, for almost a year, resulting in an 80% drop in border traffic. For generations, travelers from both countries have easily crossed the border for vacations, shopping trips and other excursions. That all stopped last March with the spread of the coronavirus. The only exceptions are for immediate family, those in long-term relationships or for compassionate purposes.  Those crossing for essential work or to transport commercial goods are also exempt. Suzanne Smith is in a unique position. She is the Canadian owner of “Betty Be Good,” two dress shops located just across the border in Washington State. Her stores employ seven Americans full time. She lives on the Canadian side in suburban Vancouver, a mere two blocks from the border. Since the closure, her business has decreased 40%.  
 
As an essential worker, she can cross the border and does so once or twice a week. However, she can only go directly to her two stores and literally nowhere else. Not even to a favorite eatery or to see her extended American family, unless they visit one of her stores. “It’s really difficult when you straddle two sides of a border with your life. You have restaurants that you enjoy. You have small businesses that you have supported over time. Things that become part of your life. And, you know, I have family there, as well. A lot of people are in that boat where they can’t see their family. I’m not unique in that I can’t see my family, either, unless they come to work,” Smith said.  On February 22, the Canadian government increased the requirements for Canadians, or permanent residents, who are nonessential travelers returning home by land. Now, those crossing the border must show a negative COVID-19 test within the previous 72 hours or proof they had the coronavirus in the previous 14 to 90 days, therefore having at least temporary antibody immunity. Travelers will then have to quarantine for 14 days.  Laurie Trautman, director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University in Bellingham, is hoping for a phased and safe reopening of the border.  “So, what I would like to see is testing out a pilot project. We’ve done that a lot in our region, and proving that it is possible for, let’s say, me as a traveler to submit my vaccine status to a border officer before I arrived there and in a seamless electronic manner. And that that should be sufficient enough for me to cross the border,” Trautman said.The Canadian government has also halted the 2021 Alaska cruise ship season.  The office of the U.S. Trade Representative estimates that $718.4 billion in all types of trade crossed the U.S.-Canada border before the pandemic in 2019.  
…

Rather than talk of bigger walls, the American president did some fence-mending on Monday with his counterpart south of the border.U.S. President Joe Biden, in a virtual meeting with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, noted “a long and complicated history between our nations that haven’t always been perfect neighbors with one another.” Biden, in the White House, told Lopez Obrador in Mexico City that “we’re safer when we work together — whether it’s addressing the challenges of our shared border or getting this pandemic under control.”  Biden explained that when he was vice president in the administration of Barack Obama, it was decided to “look at Mexico as an equal, not as somebody who is south of our border. You are equal.”  President Joe Biden, right, attends a virtual meeting with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, March 1, 2021.Lopez Obrador, who appeared on video screens in the Roosevelt Room, said that “integration will strengthen both of our countries.” He also thanked Biden for wanting to base the relationship on respect and equality, adding that “we must keep on cooperating for further development based on independence and autonomy.” The meeting, not held in person because of the coronavirus pandemic, is intended to “usher in a new phase” of the bilateral relationship, according to the White House, noting the move to a different track from one pursued by the previous U.S. president.  Mexico’s President Manuel Lopez Obrador listens from the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, during a virtual bilateral meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, who is in Washington, March 1, 2021. (Mexico’s Presidency Office/Handout via Reuters)During his four years in office, Donald Trump, who was succeeded by Biden in January, threatened Mexico with tariffs and a crackdown on migration, and claimed the southern neighbor would pay for a wall along their 3,100-kilometer-long common border.  Mexico did not pay for the wall and Trump on Sunday, in his first speech since leaving office, blamed Biden’s administration for leaving the border wall unfinished.  “They don’t want to complete it,” Trump said in an address to a conservative conference in Florida. “They don’t want to complete little sections in certain little areas.”  Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, Feb. 28, 2021.Trump also criticized his successor for dismantling other planks of his tough immigration and border policies and issued unsubstantiated warnings that Biden’s polices would lead to a renewed wave of mass illegal migration. Before Monday’s meeting between Biden and the Mexican president, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced steps to allow migrant families separated at the border to reunite and remain in the United States – a reversal of Trump’s approach, which some rights groups had compared to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.  U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, March 1, 2021.”We applaud Secretary Mayorkas’ commitment to remedy the torture and abuse of families who were separated from their children in immigration proceedings,” American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony Romero said in a statement. “Of course, the devil is in the details, and Secretary Mayorkas has to shed all the caveats and qualifications around his announcement and follow through with everything that’s necessary to right the wrong.”  Mayorkas, speaking to reporters at the White House earlier in the day, said the administration is “working around the clock to replace the cruelty of the past administration with an orderly, humane and safe immigration process. It is hard and it will take time.”  Mayorkas said the Trump administration “dismantled our nation’s immigration system in its entirety.”  FILE – Then-Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf testifies before a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing in Washington, March 3, 2020The Trump administration’s last homeland security secretary, Chad Wolf, bristled at the criticism. He tweeted that Mayorkas’ assertion that there is no crisis at the southern border “defies, logic, reality, and the facts. Ask communities along the border.”  Mexico, which sent troops to its southern border with Guatemala under pressure from Trump, has been hosting about 70,000 people seeking asylum in the United States while they waited for dates in immigration courts. The Biden administration immediately suspended the program, known as Remain in Mexico, when the new president took office and subsequently announced an estimated 26,000 people with still-active cases could be released in the United States while their cases played out.  Tents used by migrants seeking asylum in the United States line an entrance to the border crossing, in Tijuana, Mexico, March 1, 2021.Biden, however, under pandemic protocols has kept in place the power to immediately expel anyone arriving at the border without an opportunity to seek asylum.  “The truth is that arrests at the border have been rising for four months now, largely under the assumption that a change in administration means a change in U.S. posture,” said Ryan Berg, an American Enterprise Institute research fellow whose focus is Latin America.  “Even if the Biden administration is right to push for major changes from the previous administration, such as allowing migrant families separated at the border to remain legally in the country, they will continue to struggle with the fact that many in the region are interpreting the message as now is the time to migrate to the United States. As we’ve seen historically, even small changes in policy can ignite the formation of caravans and an uptick in arrivals at the border,” Berg said. What long-term approach Biden will take toward Lopez Obrador, “whose help will remain critical in stemming the flow of migrants, especially after the pandemic,” remains a key question yet to be answered, Berg told VOA.  Mexico’s president is pitching a new “Bracero”-type immigrant labor program that could bring up to 800,000 Mexican and Central American immigrants a year to work legally in the United States.  FILE – Workers — most of them from Mexico — load Christmas trees onto a truck at Hupp Farms in Silverton, Oregon, Dec. 5, 2019.Lopez Obrador is touting the “strength” and “youth” of Mexican laborers for a United States with an aging workforce. The original Bracero program allowed Mexicans to work temporarily north of the border amid labor shortages during World War II and for a couple of decades after the war.  Another serious issue confronting the neighboring countries is the common threat from transnational organized crime. The United States has appropriated several billion dollars over three years to equip and train Mexican forces to combat more than 200 brutally violent criminal gangs that, besides drug and weapons trafficking, are involved in human smuggling, kidnapping, extortion and cybercrime.  Mexico also is asking the United States to share its supply of coronavirus vaccines.  FILE – Residents of the Iztacalco borough follow a long, snaking line to receive doses of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V, during a mass vaccination campaign for Mexicans over age 60, in Mexico City, Feb. 24, 2021.”If President Biden wishes, he can give us an answer in the conversation about the vaccines,” Lopez Obrador told reporters on Monday before his virtual meeting with the U.S. president. “We have to be respectful, but it’s a subject that matters a lot to us.” Trump signed an executive order in December mandating Americans have initial access to vaccines procured by the United States government.   The Mexican president has been vocal critic of the global inequity in the distribution of the vaccines.  “No,” bluntly replied White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, when asked on Monday by a reporter if Biden would agree to Lopez Obrador’s request. “The administration’s focus is on ensuring that every American is vaccinated. And once we accomplish that objective, we’re happy to discuss further steps.”  Asked by a reporter in the Roosevelt Room, during the virtual meeting, about Lopez Obrador’s request for help, Biden responded, “We’re going to talk about that.”   
 
…

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 Canadian court is set to launch hearings Monday on whether a senior Huawei executive should be extradited to the United States.The U.S. wants Meng Wanzhou, daughter of the Chinese telecom’s founder and chief financial officer of the company, extradited to face fraud charges. She was arrested at Vancouver’s airport in 2018 and has been under house arrest in an area mansion since.Her arrest prompted China to arrest two Canadian citizens in apparent retaliation. China also cut imports of several Canadian products.The U.S. said Huawei used a Hong Kong shell company, Skycom, to skirt U.S. sanctions and sell equipment to Iran. Officials allege Meng misled HSBC bank about the company’s activity in Iran.Meng’s lawyers say her arrest was politically motivated and that the U.S used her as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations with China while Donald Trump was president. They plan to cite comments made by the former president as proof.They will also say Canadian officials questioned her without her having a lawyer present and forced her to provide access to her electronic devices before she was officially under arrest.They also say the U.S. is overreaching its jurisdiction by prosecuting a Chinese citizen for activity that happened in Hong Kong.The hearings are expected to last several weeks. 
…