Hillary Rodham Clinton, is now writing one. Clinton is teaming up with her friend, the novelist Louise Penny, on “State of Terror,” which has a plot that might occur to someone of Clinton's background: A “novice” secretary of state

Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny co-writing mystery novels.. NEW YORK (AP) — One of the world's better known fans of mystery novels, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is now writing one. Clinton is teaming up with her friend, the novelist Louise Penny, on “State of Terror,” which has a plot that might occur to someone of Clinton's background: A “novice” secretary of state, working in the administration of a rival politician, tries to solve a wave of terrorist attacks. The novel comes out Oct. 12, and will be jointly released by Clinton's publisher, Simon & Schuster, and Penny's, St. Martin's Press. (1 of 2) Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton at the premiere of the Hulu documentary "Hillary" in New York on March 4, 2020, left, and a portrait of author Louise Penny. Clinton is teaming up with Penny on the novel “State of Terror,” out Oct. 12, 2021. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, left, and Jean-Francois Bérubé via AP) (2 of 2) Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton attends the premiere of the Hulu documentary "Hillary" in New York on March 4, 2020. Clinton is teaming up with her friend Louise Penny on the novel “State of Terror,” out Oct. 12, 2021. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File) February 23, 2021 “Writing a thriller with Louise is a dream come true," Clinton, who has expressed admiration for Penny and other mystery writers in the past, said in a statement Tuesday. "I’ve relished every one of her books and their characters as well as her friendship. Now we’re joining our experiences to explore the complex world of high stakes diplomacy and treachery. All is not as it first appears.” Penny, an award-winning author from Canada whose novels include “The Cruelest Month” and “The Brutal Telling,” said in a statement that she could not “say yes fast enough” to the chance of working with Clinton. “What an incredible experience, to get inside the State Department. Inside the White House. Inside the mind of the Secretary of State as high stake crises explode," she said. "Before we started, we talked about her time as Secretary of State. What was her worst nightmare? ‘State of Terror’ is the answer.” Fiction writing and worst-case scenarios have become a favorite pastime for Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton. He collaborated with James Patterson on the million-selling cyber thriller “The President is Missing,” and on a new novel, “The President's Daughter,” which comes out in June. Hillary Clinton, secretary of state during Barack Obama's first term, has written a handful of nonfiction works. They include the memoir “Living History"; “Hard Choices,” which covered her time with Obama, who defeated her in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary; and “What Happened,” which focuses on her stunning loss to Donald Trump in the 2016 election. “State of Terror” appears to draw not just on her years as secretary of state, but on her thoughts about the Trump administration's “America First” foreign policy. According to Simon & Schuster and St. Martin's, the main character is “tasked with assembling a team to unravel the deadly conspiracy, a scheme carefully designed to take advantage of an American government dangerously out of touch and out of power in the places where it counts the most.” Financial terms were not disclosed. Clinton was represented by the Washington attorney Robert Barnett, whose other clients include Obama and Bill Clinton. Penny was represented by David Gernert, whose New York-based Gernert Company has worked with, among others, John Grisham, Stewart O'Nan and Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. Visit these published Articles' websites. http://maziliteralworks.wordpress.com http://maziliteralworks.blogspot.com https://medium.com/me/stories/public http://disqus.com/home/channel/mazipatrick/ https://maziliteralworks.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/Maziliteraworks Regards, Mazi Patrick  O., email: akwaba2000@gmail.com Thinker, Writer, Political Strategist, Historian & Psychoanalyst.... As to publish our literal work,pls you/your company can assist us with anything..

European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to impose new sanctions against Russian officials linked to the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and expressed concern that the government in Moscow appears to see the 27-nation bloc as an adversary.

EU to hit more Russian officials with sanctions over Navalny. BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to impose new sanctions against Russian officials linked to the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and expressed concern that the government in Moscow appears to see the 27-nation bloc as an adversary. (1 of 13) February 22, 2021 “We reached a political agreement to impose restrictive measures against those responsible for (Navalny's) arrest and sentencing and persecution,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said after chairing their meeting in Brussels. He gave no details about the sanctions, but said that he hoped they would be finalized in about a week. Borrell suggested that those targeted wouldn't include oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin, as Navalny's supporters have requested. Navalny, 44, an anti-corruption investigator and Putin’s most prominent critic, was arrested in Moscow last month upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have rejected the accusation. Earlier this month, a court sentenced Navalny to two years and eight months in prison for violating the terms of his probation while recuperating in Germany. The sentence stems from a 2014 embezzlement conviction that Navalny has rejected as fabricated. The European Court of Human Rights has also ruled that it’s unlawful. Navalny’s arrest and imprisonment have fueled a huge wave of protests across Russia. Authorities responded with a sweeping crackdown, detaining about 11,000 people, many of whom were fined or given jail terms ranging from seven to 15 days. “There is a shared assessment in the Council that Russia is drifting towards an authoritarian state and driving away from Europe," Borrell told reporters. Given Moscow's apparent path of “confrontation and disengagement,” Borrell said the bloc will work on three tracks: pushing back when Russia infringes international law, containing it when it pressures the EU, and engaging on issues that are in Europe's interests. So far, EU countries have been deeply divided over their approach to Moscow. Russia is the EU’s biggest natural gas supplier, and plays a key role in a series of international conflicts and key issues, including the Iran nuclear deal, and conflicts in Syria and Libya. European heavyweight Germany has strong economic interests there, notably the NordStream 2 undersea pipeline project, and a number of countries, including France, are also reluctant to wade into any sanctions battle over Navalny. “We need Russia to resolve many international conflicts, and so that will also be a question we must deal with: How is it possible to maintain a constructive dialogue with Russia, even though relations between the EU and Russia have certainly reached a low point?” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said. The meeting came two weeks after Borrell was publicly humiliated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a trip to the country. Russia expelled diplomats from Germany, Poland and Sweden, accusing them of attending a rally in support of Navalny. Borrell found out about the move by social media. The three retaliated by each declaring a Russian diplomat “persona non grata.” Criticism of Borrell initially mounted, but Lavrov’s behavior now seems to have united the Europeans, at least publicly, in their opposition to Moscow’s attempts to further divide them. “We confirmed our unity as our greatest asset,” Borrell said. “At the same time, we must define a modus vivendi to avoid permanent confrontation with a neighbor who unfortunately seems to have decided to act as an adversary." U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined the ministers via videoconference for part of their meeting, with talks focusing on Russia but also China. Borrell said the exchange was “very, very encouraging," and showed Washington's willingness to not only renew ties but to join in global leadership on the coronavirus, economic recovery, climate change and protecting democratic values. Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report. Visit these published Articles' websites. http://maziliteralworks.wordpress.com http://maziliteralworks.blogspot.com https://medium.com/me/stories/public http://disqus.com/home/channel/mazipatrick/ https://maziliteralworks.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/Maziliteraworks Regards, Mazi Patrick  O., email: akwaba2000@gmail.com Thinker, Writer, Political Strategist, Historian & Psychoanalyst....

Microsoft is teaming up with European publishers to push for a system to make big tech platforms pay for news, raising the stakes in the brewing battle led by Australia to get Google and Facebook to pay for journalism.

Microsoft,EU publishers seek Australia-style news payments. LONDON (AP) — Microsoft is teaming up with European publishers to push for a system to make big tech platforms pay for news, raising the stakes in the brewing battle led by Australia to get Google and Facebook to pay for journalism. (1 of 1) The Microsoft company logo is displayed at their offices in Sydney. Microsoft and four big European Union news industry lobbying groups unveiled their plan Monday Feb. 22, 2021, to push for a system to make big tech platforms pay for news, raising the stakes in the brewing battle over whether Google and Facebook should pay for journalism. February 22, 2021 The Seattle tech giant and four big European Union news industry groups unveiled their plan Monday to work together on a solution to “mandate payments" for use of news content from online “gatekeepers with dominant market power.” They said they will “take inspiration" from proposed legislation in Australia to force tech platforms to share revenue with news companies and which includes an arbitration system to resolve disputes over a fair price for news. Facebook last week blocked Australians from accessing and sharing news on its platform, in response to the government's proposals, but the surprise move sparked a big public backlash and intensified the debate over how much power the social network has. Google, meanwhile, has taken a different tack by cutting payment deals with news organizations, after backing down from its initial threat to shut off its search engine for Australians. The EU's internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton, expressed support for Australia, in the latest sign Facebook's move has backfired. “I think it’s very regrettable that a platform takes such decisions to protest against a country’s laws," Breton told EU lawmakers. “It’s up to the platforms to adapt to regulators, not the other way around," he said, adding that what's happening in Australia “highlights an attitude that must change.” Breton is leading the EU's sweeping overhaul of digital regulations aimed at taming the power of the big tech companies, amid growing concerns their algorithms are eroding democracy. Microsoft is joining forces with two lobbying groups, the European Publishers Council and News Media Europe, along with two groups representing European newspaper and magazine publishers, which account for thousands of titles. The company has expressed support for Australia's plans, which could help increase market share of its Bing search engine. European Union countries are working on adopting by June revamped copyright rules set out by the EU executive that allow news companies and publishers to negotiate payments from digital platforms for online use of their content. But there are worries about an imbalance of bargaining power between the two sides and the group called for new measures to be added to the upcoming overhaul of digital regulations to address the problem. Publishers “might not have the economic strength to negotiate fair and balanced agreements with these gatekeeper tech companies, who might otherwise threaten to walk away from negotiations or exit markets entirely,” the group said in a joint statement. Google and Facebook have resisted arbitration because it would give them less control over payment talks. Facebook did not reply to a request for comment. Google said it already has signed hundreds of partnerships with news publishers across Europe, making it one of journalism's biggest funders and noted on Twitter that it's working with publishers and policymakers across the EU as member countries adopt the copyright rules into national legislation. Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report. For all of AP’s tech coverage, visit https://apnews.com/apf-technology Follow Kelvin Chan at www.twitter.com/chanman Visit these published Articles' websites. http://maziliteralworks.wordpress.com http://maziliteralworks.blogspot.com https://medium.com/me/stories/public http://disqus.com/home/channel/mazipatrick/ https://maziliteralworks.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/Maziliteraworks Regards, Mazi Patrick  O., email: akwaba2000@gmail.com Thinker, Writer, Political Strategist, Historian & Psychoanalyst.... As to publish our literal work,pls you/your company can assist us with anything..

UN nuclear chief in Iran as it threatens watchdog's cameras.Iran (AP).The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog met Sunday with Iranian officials in a bid to preserve his inspectors' ability to monitor Tehran's atomic program, even as authorities said they planned to cut off surveillance cameras at those sites.

UN nuclear chief in Iran as it threatens watchdog's cameras.Iran (AP).The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog met Sunday with Iranian officials in a bid to preserve his inspectors' ability to monitor Tehran's atomic program, even as authorities said they planned to cut off surveillance cameras at those sites. (1 of 5) Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks in a meeting with Iran's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. Grossi met with Salehi ahead of Iran's plans to partly suspend United Nations inspections of the country's nuclear facilities. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP) (2 of 5) Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, speaks with Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, back to camera at center, during their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog met Sunday with Iranian officials in a bid to preserve his inspectors' ability to monitor Tehran's atomic program, even as authorities said they planned to cut off surveillance cameras at those sites. (3 of 5) Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, right, looks towards Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during a meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog met Sunday with Iranian officials in a bid to preserve his inspectors' ability to monitor Tehran's atomic program, even as authorities said they planned to cut off surveillance cameras at those sites. (4 of 5) Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, second left, meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, second right, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog met Sunday with Iranian officials in a bid to preserve his inspectors' ability to monitor Tehran's atomic program, even as authorities said they planned to cut off surveillance cameras at those sites. (5 of 5) Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, center, meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, back to camera at left, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog met Sunday with Iranian officials in a bid to preserve his inspectors' ability to monitor Tehran's atomic program, even as authorities said they planned to cut off surveillance cameras at those sites. February 21, 2021 Rafael Grossi's arrival in Tehran comes as Iran tries to pressure Europe and the new Biden administration into returning to the 2015 nuclear deal, which President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from in 2018. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who under President Hassan Rouhani helped reach the nuclear deal, said the cameras of the International Atomic Energy Agency would be shut off despite Grossi's visit to follow a law passed by parliament. “This is not a deadline for the world. This is not an ultimatum,” Zarif told the government-run, English-language broadcaster Press TV in an interview aired before he was to meet Grossi. “This is an internal domestic issue between the parliament and the government.” “We have a democracy. We are supposed to implement the laws of the country. And the parliament adopted legislation — whether we like it or not.” Zarif's comments marked the highest-level acknowledgement yet of what Iran planned to do when it stopped following the so-called “Additional Protocol,” a confidential agreement between Tehran and the IAEA reached as part of the nuclear deal. The IAEA has additional protocols with a number of countries it monitors. Under the protocol with Iran, the IAEA “collects and analyzes hundreds of thousands of images captured daily by its sophisticated surveillance cameras,” the agency said in 2017. The agency also said then that it had placed “2,000 tamper-proof seals on nuclear material and equipment.” In his interview, Zarif said authorities would be “required by law not to provide the tapes of those cameras.” It wasn't immediately clear if that also meant the cameras would be turned off entirely as Zarif called that a “technical decision, that's not a political decision.” “The IAEA certainly will not get footage from those cameras,” Zarif said. The Vienna-based IAEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Zarif's comments. The agency last week said the visit was aimed at finding “a mutually agreeable solution for the IAEA to continue essential verification activities in the country.” There are 18 nuclear facilities and nine other locations in Iran under IAEA safeguards. Grossi met earlier Sunday with Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's civilian nuclear program. Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Kazem Gharibabadi, later tweeted that “Iran and the IAEA held fruitful discussions based on mutual respect, the result of which will be released this evening.” Iran’s parliament in December approved a bill that would suspend part of U.N. inspections of its nuclear facilities if European signatories do not provide relief from oil and banking sanctions by Tuesday. Already, Iran has slowly walked away from all the nuclear deal's limitations on its stockpile of uranium and has begun enriching up 20%, a technical step away from weapons-grade levels. It also has begun spinning advanced centrifuges barred by the deal, which saw Iran limit its program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. An escalating series of incidents since Trump's withdrawal has threatened the wider Mideast. Over a year ago, a U.S. drone strike killed a top Iranian general, causing Tehran to later launch ballistic missiles that wounded dozens of American troops in Iraq. A mysterious explosion also struck Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, which Iran has described as sabotage. In November, Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who founded the country's military nuclear program some two decades earlier, was killed in an attack Tehran blames on Israel. Zarif brought up the attacks in his interview with state TV, saying the IAEA must keep some of its information confidential for safety reasons. “Some of them may have security ramifications for Iran, whose peaceful nuclear sites have been attacked," Zarif said. “For a country whose nuclear scientists have been murdered in terrorist operations in the past — and now recently with Mr. Fakhrizadeh — confidentiality is essential.” Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Visit these published Articles' websites. http://maziliteralworks.wordpress.com http://maziliteralworks.blogspot.com https://medium.com/me/stories/public http://disqus.com/home/channel/mazipatrick/ https://maziliteralworks.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/Maziliteraworks Regards, Mazi Patrick  O., email: akwaba2000@gmail.com Thinker, Writer, Political Strategist, Historian & Psychoanalyst.... As to publish our literal work,pls you/your company can assist us with anything..

US sanctions over a pipeline from Russia deemed lacking by the GOP.The Biden administration on Friday added a layer of sanctions to a Russian vessel and the shipowner for their work on a new gas pipeline from Russia that is strongly opposed in the U.S. and eastern Europe.

US sanctions over a pipeline from Russia deemed lacking by the GOP.The Biden administration on Friday added a layer of sanctions to a Russian vessel and the shipowner for their work on a new gas pipeline from Russia that is strongly opposed in the U.S. and eastern Europe. (1 of 1) State Department Spokesman Ned Price speaks to reporters during a news briefing at the State Department, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, in Washington. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool via AP) February 20, 2021 But the move was immediately criticized as inadequate by senior Republican lawmakers who noted the administration had not penalized any additional companies or individuals for work on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. They also said the new sanctions were redundant as they duplicate existing penalties that the Trump administration had imposed on the pipelaying ship Fortuna and its owner KVT-RUS in January. The sanctions were announced in a report submitted to Congress by the State Department late Friday night, three days after a Feb. 16 deadline for its delivery had passed. Congressional aides expressed surprise that the word “Russia” did not appear in the report except in its title and that it did not discuss in detail any consultations with U.S. partners and allies that would be affected. Like the Trump administration before it, the Biden administration is opposed to the pipeline because it believes it will harm European energy security, particularly for countries in eastern and central Europe like Ukraine and Poland, which the pipeline bypasses. U.S. officials have long said they fear Russia will use the pipeline as a political tool against its neighbors. “We’ve been clear for some time that Nord Stream 2 is a bad deal and that companies risk sanctions if they are involved,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters just hours before the report was transmitted to Congress. “We’ll continue to work with our allies and partners to ensure that Europe has a reliable, diversified energy supply network that doesn’t undermine our collective security. Our goal in all of this is to reinforce European energy security and safeguard against predatory behavior,” he said. However, congressional Republicans were unimpressed and denounced the administration for failing to impose any sanctions on additional targets, notably people and firms in Germany, which is a strong Nord Stream 2 proponent. Administration officials have pointed to their relatively short time in office thus far and said they want to review all options before imposing new sanctions. Still, the top GOP members on the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees, Sen. Jim Risch and Rep. Michael McCaul, demanded explanations as to what exactly the administration is doing to oppose the completion of the pipeline. “I am deeply troubled and disappointed by the State Department’s report on Nord Stream 2 activities and their decision to forgo additional sanctions on other entities involved in its construction," Risch said. “Congress has passed multiple bipartisan laws regarding this project, and specifically broadened the mandatory sanctions to include the types of pipe-laying activities occurring right now. The administration’s decision to ignore these activities demands an immediate explanation.” “Simply put, today’s sanctions designations are wholly inadequate," said McCaul, who added that simply adding a layer of sanctions to previously penalized targets does not meet lawmakers' intent to stop the pipeline. “Allowing this pipeline to be completed would be nothing short of a victory for Vladimir Putin.” Republican concern about the administration's actions will likely be echoed by some Democrats. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire has co-sponsored legislation opposing the pipeline with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and has been outspoken in her criticism of Nord Stream 2. Opposition to the pipeline and its potential impact on Europe has increased since the poisoning and arrest of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny and the crackdown against demonstrators protesting in his support. Visit these published Articles' websites. http://maziliteralworks.wordpress.com http://maziliteralworks.blogspot.com https://medium.com/me/stories/public http://disqus.com/home/channel/mazipatrick/ https://maziliteralworks.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/Maziliteraworks Regards, Mazi Patrick  O., email: akwaba2000@gmail.com Thinker, Writer, Political Strategist, Historian & Psychoanalyst.... As to publish our literal work,pls you/your company can assist us with anything..

When Joe Biden walked into the Oval Office for the first time as president a month ago, his pens were ready. Already. Lining a fine wooden box, they bore the presidential seal and an imprint of his signature, a micro-mission accomplished in advance of his swearing-in.

Biden's 1st month was about erasing the mark of 'former guy. WASHINGTON (AP) — When Joe Biden walked into the Oval Office for the first time as president a month ago, his pens were ready. Already. Lining a fine wooden box, they bore the presidential seal and an imprint of his signature, a micro-mission accomplished in advance of his swearing-in. (1 of 3) Pens featuring President Joe Biden's signature and presidential seal, are displayed in the State Dinning Room of the White House in Washington. (2 of 3) President Donald Trump puts the cap on a pen after signing a coronavirus aid package to direct funds to small businesses, hospitals, and testing, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (3 of 3) President Joe Biden signs a series of executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. February 20, 2021 Four years ago, pens were just one more little drama in Donald Trump's White House. The gold-plated signature pens he favored had to be placed on rush order in his opening days. Over time, he came to favor Sharpies over the government-issued pens. On matters far more profound than a pen, Biden is out to demonstrate that the days of a seat-of-the-pants presidency are over. He wants to show that the inflationary cycle of outrage can be contained. That things can get done by the book. That the new guy can erase the legacy of the “former guy,” as Biden has called Trump. On policy, symbolism and style, from the Earth’s climate to what’s not on his desk (Trump's button to summon a Diet Coke), Biden has been purging Trumpism however he can in an opening stretch that is wholly unlike the turmoil and trouble of his predecessor's first month. The test for Biden is whether his stylistic changes will be matched by policies that deliver a marked improvement from Trump, and a month is not long enough to measure that. Further, the length of Biden’s honeymoon is likely to be brief in highly polarized Washington, with Republicans already saying he has caved to the left wing of the Democratic Party. The first time the nation saw Biden in the Oval Office, hours after he was sworn in, he sat behind the Resolute Desk with a mask on his face. Trump, of course, had eschewed masks. Not only that, but he had made their use a culture war totem and political cudgel even as thousands of Americans were dying each day from a virus that properly worn masks can ward off. Though Biden wore a mask in the campaign, seeing it on the face of the new president at the desk in the famed Oval Office made for a different message. Biden wished to make a sharp break with his predecessor while his administration came to own the deep and intractable crises that awaited him. The strategy had been in the works since before the election and began with Biden at the desk signing a flurry of executive orders. The intent was clear: to unwind the heart of Trump’s agenda on immigration, the pandemic and more while also rejoining international alliances and trying to assure historic allies that the United States could be relied upon once again. “The subtext under every one of the images we are seeing from the White House is the banner: ‘Under new management’," says Robert Gibbs, who was press secretary for President Barack Obama. "Whether showing it overtly or subtly, the message they are trying to deliver, without engaging the former president, is to make sure everyone understands that things were going to operate differently now and that hopefully the results would be different, too.” In a whiteout of executive actions in his first weeks, Biden reversed Trump’s course on the environment and placed the Obama health law at the center of the pandemic response with an extended special enrollment period for the insurance program that Trump swore to kill. The Iran nuclear deal that Biden’s predecessor abandoned is back on the diplomatic plate. The U.S. is back in the World Health Organization as well as the Paris climate accord. But memberships and diplomatic outreach only go so far. The world wants to see how far Biden will actually go in making good on climate goals, whether he will steer more help to poorer countries in the pandemic and whether his words of renewed solidarity with NATO may only last until the next pendulum swing of U.S. politics. In addition, Biden faces the reality that over the past four years China has moved in to fill the void left by the United States on trade, and allies have learned to rely less on the U.S. during the more hostile Trump era. One month into Trump's presidency, he had already lost his national security adviser and his choice for labor secretary to scandal. The revolving door of burned-out, disgraced or disfavored aides was already creaking into motion. Forces in the bureaucracy were leaking information and resisting his policies. Revelations were emerging about an FBI investigation into his campaign’s contacts with Russian intelligence officials, a precursor of a special inquiry that would eventually morph into impeachment. Judges had already blocked his order to suspend the refugee program and ban visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries. Biden's first month has been comparatively drama-free, with many of his Cabinet picks approved and no evident convulsions among his staff other than the departure of a White House press officer who made a profane threat to a journalist. After 40 years in Washington, eight years as Obama's vice president and two failed presidential campaigns before his successful one, Biden has had a lifetime to think about the mark he wants to make as president and how to get rolling on it. “Nobody who observed Joe Biden as a candidate should be surprised by any of this,” said senior adviser Anita Dunn. “He had no learning curve in terms of the issues but also in how to be president.” There have been challenges nonetheless: the distraction of Trump's post-presidential impeachment trial, a more narrowly divided Senate than his predecessor faced and a nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget who's been busy deleting years of social media posts assailing Republicans and some on the Democratic left. Much of what Biden has set out to do has been to mark a change from Trump in both style and substance. The Democrat framed his first month as one to start to “heal the soul” of the nation, repair the presidency and restore the White House as a symbol of stability and credibility. He has acted to lower Washington's partisan rancor, disengaging almost completely from the Trump impeachment spectacle that consumed the capital for much of the month and not watching it live on TV. Yet his early efforts to work with Republicans on COVID-19 relief have stalled. Gone are the predawn tweets that rattled Washington with impromptu policy announcements and incendiary rhetoric. Gone are the extended, off-the-cuff, combative exchanges with the “enemy of the people” mainstream press. Gone are rosy projections about the virus, with ill-fated promises that the nation is “rounding the corner” on the pandemic. In contrast with his predecessor, Biden has leveled with the public about the pandemic and the resulting economic devastation, acknowledging that things would get worse before they got better. “You had the former guy saying that, well, you know, we’re just going to open things up, and that’s all we need to do,” Biden told his first town-hall meeting as president, this past week. “We said, no, you’ve got to deal with the disease before you deal with getting the economy going.” A pattern emerged: The president and his team would deliberately set expectations low — particularly on vaccinations and school reopening — then try to land a political win by beating that timetable. How low? On Friday in Michigan, he held out only the possibility that the country will be returning to normal by the end of the year. “God willing, this Christmas will be different than last but I can’t make that commitment to you," he said. Biden’s team has installed a new discipline within the walls of the West Wing. The new president has only held one extended question-and-answer session with reporters, and his exchanges in the Oval Office or before boarding Marine One have been brief. The messages from the White House track with the assessments Biden delivered in his inaugural address: The U.S. is being tested and the answers will not be easy. The daily press briefings are back, this time with sign language. Pets roam the White House lawn again. Fires crackle in the White House fireplace. Biden says he begins his day by working out, making coffee and eating yogurt or Raisin Bran. At his town hall event in Wisconsin, Biden repeatedly talked about how he doesn’t want to talk about the former guy. “I’m tired of talking about Donald Trump, don’t want to talk about him anymore,” he said. “For four years, all that’s been in the news is Trump. The next four years, I want to make sure all the news is the American people.” That's a tall order. The ex-president maintains his hold on millions of supporters and his lock on much of the Republican Party, whether he ends up running again or not. But to the extent Biden can, he is doing what Obama foresaw during the 2020 campaign if the Democrat won. Biden and running mate Kamala Harris would make it possible to ignore the Washington circus again, Obama told a rally, and give Americans some predictability whether they like Biden's course or not. “You’re not going to have to think about them every single day,” Obama said. “It just won’t be so exhausting. You’ll be able to go about your lives.” Visit these published Articles' websites. http://maziliteralworks.wordpress.com http://maziliteralworks.blogspot.com https://medium.com/me/stories/public http://disqus.com/home/channel/mazipatrick/ https://maziliteralworks.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/Maziliteraworks Regards, Mazi Patrick  O., email: akwaba2000@gmail.com Thinker, Writer, Political Strategist, Historian & Psychoanalyst.... As to publish our literal work,pls you/your company can assist us with anything..

Pentagon chief urges immediate reduction in Taliban violence. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in his first news conference as Pentagon chief, said Friday that progress toward peace in Afghanistan and an end to U.S. military involvement there depends on the Taliban reducing attacks.

Pentagon chief urges immediate reduction in Taliban violence. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in his first news conference as Pentagon chief, said Friday that progress toward peace in Afghanistan and an end to U.S. military involvement there depends on the Taliban reducing attacks. (1 of 2) Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin smiles as he speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon, Friday, Feb. 19, 2021, in Washington. (2 of 2) Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon, Friday, Feb. 19, 2021, in Washington. February 19, 2021 “The violence must decrease now,” he told reporters. Austin, a retired four-star Army general who oversaw U.S. forces in Afghanistan and across the Mideast for three years during the Obama administration, said the Biden administration is “methodically and deliberately" assessing its next steps in Afghanistan, where U.S. troops have been present for nearly 20 years. The U.S. has about 2,500 troops there, and Austin said there would be no “hasty” withdrawal. Under a deal with the Taliban struck by the Trump administration one year ago this month, the United States promised a phased withdrawal of troops, so that by May 1, 2021, all foreign troops would be gone. For its part, the Taliban committed to starting peace talks with the Afghan government, ending attacks on American forces, and publicly renouncing all ties to al-Qaida and other extremist groups. Austin suggested the Taliban are not meeting their commitments. In remarks earlier Friday to a virtual meeting of the Munich Security Conference, President Joe Biden gave no indication of his plan for troop levels in Afghanistan. He pledged to support the peace process and to ensure that Afghanistan does not revert to being a launching pad for international terrorist attacks. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in remarks following Biden's address, said her government is willing to keep troops in Afghanistan longer if needed to ensure that the country does not descend into chaos. “Withdrawal must not mean that the wrong forces get the upper hand again,” she said. The U.S. allies in NATO now have more troops in Afghanistan than does the United States, and they are awaiting Washington’s decision on whether to stick to the May 1 deadline. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday the allies are holding out hope for a “re-energized” peace process that could lead to a cease-fire as a step toward a final political settlement. Short of that, the choices for the U.S. and NATO are difficult. “We are faced with very hard and difficult dilemmas,” Stoltenberg told reporters after Austin and his fellow NATO defense ministers consulted by video teleconference. “Because, if we stay beyond May 1, we risk more violence, we risk more attacks against our own troops, and we risk, of course, also to be part of a continued presence in Afghanistan that will be difficult. But, if we leave, then we also risk that the gains we have made are lost and that Afghanistan again could become a safe haven for international terrorists.” Visit these published Articles' websites. http://maziliteralworks.wordpress.com http://maziliteralworks.blogspot.com https://medium.com/me/stories/public http://disqus.com/home/channel/mazipatrick/ https://maziliteralworks.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/Maziliteraworks Regards, Mazi Patrick  O., email: akwaba2000@gmail.com Thinker, Writer, Political Strategist, Historian & Psychoanalyst....

Trump repeats election claims in interviews, is Unchallenged.In the first television interviews of his post-presidency, Donald Trump repeated his false claims that the election was stolen from him 10 times — each instance unprompted and unchallenged.

Trump repeats election claims in interviews, is Unchallenged.In the first television interviews of his post-presidency, Donald Trump repeated his false claims that the election was stolen from him 10 times — each instance unprompted and unchallenged,which more than 7 times Recount,OK it (1 of 1) President Donald Trump gestures to the crowd as he arrives to speak at a campaign rally at Williams Arena in Greenville, N.C. Former President Donald Trump repeated false claims that the election was stolen from him 10 times during interviews this week on Fox News Channel, Newsmax and One America News Networks. The claims were unprompted but also unchallenged in each case. February 19, 2021 Trump emerged this week for interviews with Fox News Channel, Newsmax and One America News Network tied to the death of Rush Limbaugh. Each network actively appeals to Trump's base conservative audience. And the way the interviews were conducted illustrates how difficult it may be to change the minds of supporters who believe the former president's unfounded narrative. Nearly a month after he left office, Trump drove his point home on each network: — "The election was stolen," he told OANN's White House correspondent Jenn Pellegrino. “We were robbed. It was a rigged election.” — "We did win the election, as far as I'm concerned. It was disgraceful what happened," he said to Greg Kelly on Newsmax. — "You would have had riots going all over the place if that happened to a Democrat," he said when interviewed by Harris Faulkner and Bill Hemmer on Fox News Channel. At no point did an interviewer interrupt Trump to correct or challenge the claims. He brought up the election grievances six times with Kelly, twice with Pellegrino and twice with the Fox team. The subject didn't come up in a later interview with Fox's Sean Hannity. No interviewer introduced the topic. Except for Kelly, each questioner stuck strictly to the subject of Trump's relationship with Limbaugh. “We probably have 100 questions for you, but so many of these are not appropriate for this venue, so we'll keep it on this topic for now,” Hemmer said. Hemmer arguably teased the subject, though, when he asked Trump if he had spoken to Limbaugh post-election. “Rush thought we won, and so do I,” Trump said. So, in fact, do many of his supporters. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll taken between Jan. 28 and Feb. 1 found that 65% of Republicans say that Joe Biden was not legitimately elected president last November. When Trump supporter Mike Lindell, CEO of My Pillow, started making election fraud claims in a Newsmax interview on Feb. 2, anchor Bob Sellers interrupted him to read a statement saying that “election results in every state were certified and Newsmax accepts the results as legitimate and final. The courts have also accepted that view.” When Lindell pressed his claims, Sellers walked off the set. But a day later, Sellers apologized, saying “there is no question I could have handled the end of the interview differently.” Kelly read no statement about certified election results after Trump's claims. Only on Fox News was Trump even called a “former president” on air during his appearances. Kelly referred to “President Trump” and “Joe Biden.” “A lot of people are in awe of you, and I am one of those people,” Kelly told Trump. Television ratings from last week's impeachment trial starkly indicate the extent to which Trump supporters resist news that shakes their world view. Trump fans weren't much interested in the trial, anyway, but during coverage of the second day of the impeachment managers' argument to convict Trump, Fox News Channel's audience was only 815,000, the Nielsen company said. The next day, when Trump's lawyers offered their defense, Fox's audience more than doubled to 2.21 million, Nielsen said. CNN and MSNBC, which appeal to more liberal audiences, had differences, too, but not to that extent. MSNBC had 3 million viewers for the second day of prosecution, and 2.67 million for Trump's defense. CNN's audience went from 2.87 million to 2.54 million. Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, in a statement this week explaining his vote in favor of Trump's conviction, spoke about the need for Americans to accept the truth. “There is one untruth that divides that nation today like none other,” he said. “It is that the election was stolen, that there was a massive conspiracy, more secret and widespread than any in human history, so brilliant in execution that no evidence can be found of it and no observer among the tens of thousands in our intelligence agencies will speak of it.” Now, post-impeachment, it falls on everyone to affirm Biden's election, he said. “The division in America will only begin to heal in the light of this truth,” Romney said. ------------------------------------------------------- The US tough Surveillance & All Issues Monitoring,which resulted in Trump's non realizable US Electoral Ambition & coupled with Putin 's inability to Act or Perform as before,is fast beclouding or has beclouded Trump expected electoral Result or non feasible Trump electoral Win. These have made Trump's & Putin's Agents/Supporters,in conjunction with her Imperial Majesty Networks/Agencies to maneuver overtly or covertly the Media,to lobby, to  propagate gullible Public with some fabricated misinformation or to mislead  through unwarranted Racial Tension with its  infused Crisis. All US Stakeholders and all concerned,should be aware or Be warned of More Coming Trump/Putin booboo Racial Traps/Crisis with some futuristic Economic Protests,as to engage US or Preoccupy US and divert US Political intention for expectant US Electoral Change. Ironically,People should exercise Calm,Patience with Deserved Intelligence when dealing or handling Racial issues or Resolving Economic Issues ............................................................................... Russia Vladimir Putin, as a groomed voodoo political/economic crisis Expert and as a KGB trained Con Artist Expert/KGB insecurity crisis Expert.Huge Migrant Crisis,Trump induced Trade Tariff Economic Conflict/Crisis and Far Right/White Extremist Political Instability confronting West & US with its Allies nowadays,have testified Russia Vladimir Putin, as a groomed voodoo political/economic Crisis Expert and as a KGB trained Con Artist Expert/KGB insecurity Crisis Expert. Analysts were of opinion that Putin Russia KGB Elements/NGOs secretly organized, sponsored & tel-guided Stranded Mediterranean sea Migrants and Stranded US-Mexico border Migrants, as technical analysis or careful studies of some years back Migrants,could show that past migrants were resourceful, matured & well knowledgeable than present youthful migrants,as many present migrant do not have the required Resources or Maturity & traveling know-how,as to leave their various Countries,in order to be able to reach either Mediterranean sea or US-Mexico Border. Putin migrant problematic Designs were created to inflate the US or West with large Refugee Complex Problems and to create a migrant unsolvable situation where the US or West is portrayed in bad Media light as inhuman or not caring. Western Securities/Agents should be on the field, as to counter and checkmate this Putin Russia Migrant Crisis program as quickly as possible.  Putin led Russia Kremlin/KGB Hardliners accused US with its Western Allies for the collapse of former Soviet Union Republics,whereby  Putin with his Cohorts strategically nurtured & sponsored European Far Right Chauvinists/White Extremists and US White Extremist Conservatives,as to create Racial Divide Crisis, inflate Racial Inequalities, Economic Disharmony & to  segregate US various Races/Classes from US flourishing Economy. Trump led Extremist Republicans after saying that Obama 8 years were disastrous,but upon Trump Office assumption,they asserted that Jobs were created and the US Economy has turned Around & is now performing,while the smallest Economy takes 2years,to be able to turn it Around............................... Astonishingly,the US President Trump recently goofed on Harris Citizenship & Shocked the World by his Non Strategic Ignorance,Displayed Parochialism and lack of Technical Think Tank Reserve on Universal Basis,US Ethnic/Racial Divide Sentiment and wiping up Parochial Racial Sentimentalism. US Stakeholders and all concerned,should be aware or be warned of more coming Trump/Putin booboo Racial Traps/Crisis with some futuristic Economic Protests,as to engage US or Preoccupy US and divert US Political intention for expectant US Electoral Change.Ironically,US People should exercise Calm,Patience with Deserved Intelligence when dealing or handling Racial issues or Resolving Economic Issues. Visit these published Articles' websites. http://maziliteralworks.wordpress.com http://maziliteralworks.blogspot.com https://medium.com/me/stories/public http://disqus.com/home/channel/mazipatrick/ https://maziliteralworks.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/Maziliteraworks Regards, Mazi Patrick  O., email: akwaba2000@gmail.com Thinker, Writer, Political Strategist, Historian & Psychoanalyst.... As to publish our literal work,pls you/your company can assist us with anything..

Power was restored to more Texans on Thursday, with fewer than a half-million homes remaining without electricity, and many still were without safe drinking water after winter storms wreaked havoc on the state's power grid and utilities this week.

Texas power outages below 500,000 but water crisis persists. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Power was restored to more Texans on Thursday, with fewer than a half-million homes remaining without electricity, and many still were without safe drinking water after winter storms wreaked havoc on the state's power grid and utilities this week. February 18, 2021 Meanwhile, the Appalachians, northern Maryland and southern Pennsylvania braced for heavy snow and ice. Snow fell in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. Little Rock, Arkansas, got 15 inches (38 centimeters) of snow in back-to-back storms, tying a 1918 record, the National Weather Service said. More than 320,000 homes and businesses were without power in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. In Tennessee, 12 people were rescued from boats after a dock weighed down by snow and ice collapsed on the Cumberland River on Wednesday night, the Nashville Fire Department said. The extreme weather has been blamed for the deaths of more than three dozen people, some of whom perished while struggling to keep warm. In the Houston area, one family succumbed to carbon monoxide from car exhaust in their garage. A woman and her three grandchildren died in a fire that authorities said might have been caused by a fireplace they were using. In Texas, just under 500,000 homes and businesses remained without power, down from about 3 million on Wednesday. The state's grid manager, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, said the remaining outages are largely weather-related, rather than forced outages that were made early Monday to stabilize the power grid. “We will keep working around the clock until every single customer has their power back on,” said ERCOT Senior Director of System Operations Dan Woodfin. Adding to the misery, the weather jeopardized the state's drinking water systems. Texas officials ordered 7 million people — a quarter of the population of the nation’s second-largest state — to boil tap water before drinking it, following days of record low temperatures that damaged infrastructure and froze pipes. Some Austin hospitals faced a loss in water pressure and heat. “Because this is a state-wide emergency situation that is also impacting other hospitals within the Austin area, no one hospital currently has the capacity to accept transport of a large number of patients,” said David Huffstutler, CEO of St. David's South Austin Medical Center. Water pressure has fallen because lines have frozen, and many people left faucets dripping in hopes of preventing pipes from icing over, said Toby Baker, executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Gov. Greg Abbott urged residents to shut off water to their homes, if possible, to prevent more busted pipes and preserve pressure in municipal systems. At Houston Methodist, two of its community hospitals did not have running water but still treated patients, with most non-emergency surgeries and procedures canceled for Thursday and possibly Friday, said spokeswoman Gale Smith. Pipes had burst in Methodist’s hospitals but were being repaired as they happened, Smith said. Texas Children’s Hospital’s main campus at the Texas Medical Center and another location had low water pressure, but the system was adequately staffed and patients had enough water and “are safe and comfortable,” spokeswoman Jenn Jacome said. The hospitals were “all experiencing very crowded emergency rooms due to patients being unable to meet their medical needs at home without electricity,” she said. Weather-related outages also struck Oregon, where some customers have been without power for almost a week. A Portland supermarket threw its perishable food into dumpsters, leading to a clash between scavengers and police. The damage to the power system was the worst in 40 years, said Maria Pope, CEO of Portland General Electric. At the peak of the storm, more than 350,000 customers in the Portland area were in the dark. More than 100,000 customers remained without power Thursday in Oregon. “These are the most dangerous conditions we’ve ever seen in the history of PGE,” said Dale Goodman, director of utility operations, who declined to predict when all customers would have power restored. Utilities from Minnesota to Texas have implemented rolling blackouts to ease the burden on strained power grids. Southwest Power Pool, a group of utilities covering 14 states from the Dakotas to the Texas Panhandle, said rolling blackouts were no longer needed but asked customers to conserve energy until at least 10 p.m. Saturday. The weather also disrupted water systems in several Southern cities, including New Orleans and Shreveport, Louisiana, where fire trucks delivered water to hospitals and bottled water was brought in for patients and staff, Shreveport television station KSLA reported. Power was cut to a New Orleans facility that pumps drinking water from the Mississippi River. A spokeswoman for the Sewerage and Water Board said on-site generators were used until electricity was restored. Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Associated Press journalists Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Oregon.; Juan Lozano in Houston; Rebecca Reynolds Yonker in Louisville, Kentucky., Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Alabama.; Kevin McGill in New Orleans; and Tammy Webber in Fenton, Michigan, contributed. ----------------------- Geographical Research outlined that all 3 Major Rivers that are in the US,comes from Mexico & Water Channelization to water the 3 Rivers from Mexican Ocean,which must be done in Mexico,as the Drought/No River Water in Texas,Arizona & California.Joe Biden with John Kerry to talk to Mexico for it ----------------------------------------------------The US Geo-Racial Origin composited as follows: 1a. The US Core-White Extremist Conservative Americans who formerly originated from:  England, Iceland, Scandinavian Countries, from Poland towards Moscow Russia territories, Germany, Austria, Czech, Hungry. Swiss, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Northern France, Northern Italy. 1b. US Core-White Moderate people who originated from: Irish, Scottish, Walsh & other moderate European White Minorities. 2. US Non Core-White People  who originated from: southern France, Southern Italy, Non White Russian former Soviet Bloc States, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Malta, Mediterranean Non Core-white Europeans. 3. US Black People  who originated from Africa,Non African Blacks from India,Oceanic/Pacific Islands,Asian/ Papua new Guinea. 4. US Colored People who originated from Mexico to Argentina territories. 6. US Chinese people who originated from China. 7. US Japanese  people who  originated from Japan. 8. US Korean people who originated from Korea. 9. US Malay, Philippines, Indonesian people who originated from Malaysia, Philippines, and Indonesia.. 10.American Indians who originated from Native Red Indians. 11. US Fijians, Amerindians & Caribbean people who originated from Fiji/Hawaii &  Caribbean Islands. 12. US Australian/New Zealand Aborigine people who originated from Australian Native Aborigines & New Zealand Native Aborigines with lesser Papua guinea Native Aborigines. Presumably, 20% to 30% Trump/KKK top Members led Core-White Extremist Conservatives used its controlled US political/Economic Stakeholders to coarse & impress the US population Majority and hold the US top vital Post. Trump with past hindsight of KKK/Core-White modus operandi & as a top Beneficiary, recently engaged various US State Securities in dirty in-house fighting, manipulating its independent operational Rules to favor him/his colleagues and to coarse them as to toe Trump  chartered ways & means. Imperatively, moderate Republicans with Democrats should jointly forge democratic ways and means to guide the US State from Trump political onslaught and to minimize US loss, and to create oversea political channels to meet & dialogue with Oversea Governments and bilateral Institutions. The US Billionaire Trump with his vast businesses should have huge communication/transactions’ Data with various US Securities, but the World is at shock that US State Securities could not easily expose or provide the US Public/the World with Trump secret Russia Associations, which is assumed to be with them, rather than US Congress to engage and have to appoint Robert Mueller on the Trump Russia investigation as to uncover the Trump Secret Association with Russia, before Trump/Group dealing with Russia, could be exposed and to provide Public with prerequisite Evidences. These stated US Geo-Racial Origins’ Classification information, are statistically to certify US Public with the Prerequisite US Racial Descendant Origins and put to rest some Generational false US Racial Population & Extremist propagated Voters’ Victory Claim, usually associated with some powerful US interest Groups against the non knowledgeable gullible Majority US people and to denounce so called Trump smart People with its US Racial major Data with its dominating Claim, which assisted the smart people in US to actualize electoral victory through the chartered CIA/FBI maneuvered US Presidential Election’s Victory and to secure themselves their US top Post Allocations/to implement its Race Suppression/Authority. US/Mexico boundary Temporary Border’s Walls were built, as to temporarily fervent cross Border Crimes, but it become imperative that US want to permanent Boundary Border’s Walls, a US/Mexico Boundary Survey Border’s Commission have to be initiated, as to legally define legal surveyed Bordering line for building of legitimate Permanent Walls, any contrary to this, lead US and Mexico to Bordering Walls legation and Court. Before the US/Mexico Border’s Walls building, US appropriate Dept. or Agency have to advise Trump rightly, before plunging the US to unwarranted legal Encumbrances. The US should avoid being seen as a hostile neighbor, which can pave Opportunities for Iran, Russia& China to engage and to woo Mexico into bilateral industrialization along the US- Mexico Border. Visit these published Articles' websites. http://maziliteralworks.wordpress.com http://maziliteralworks.blogspot.com https://medium.com/me/stories/public http://disqus.com/home/channel/mazipatrick/ https://maziliteralworks.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/Maziliteraworks Regards, Mazi Patrick  O., email: akwaba2000@gmail.com Thinker, Writer, Political Strategist, Historian & Psychoanalyst.... As to publish our literal work,pls you/your company can assist us with anything..

Europe's top human rights court has ordered Russia to release jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a ruling quickly rejected Wednesday by Russian authorities who are bent on isolating the Kremlin's most Prominent Foe.

Russia rejects European rights court's order to free Navalny. MOSCOW (AP) — Europe's top human rights court has ordered Russia to release jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a ruling quickly rejected Wednesday by Russian authorities who are bent on isolating the Kremlin's most Prominent Foe. February 17, 2021 The decision by the European Court of Human Rights had demanded that Russia free Navalny immediately and warns that failing to do so would mark a breach of the European human rights convention. Russia's justice minister dismissed the court's demand as “unfounded and unlawful” and the Foreign Ministry denounced it as part of Western meddling in the country's domestic affairs. Navalny, 44, an anti-corruption investigator and President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic, was arrested last month upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have rejected the accusation. Earlier this month, a Moscow court sentenced Navalny to two years and eight months in prison for violating terms of his probation while recuperating in Germany. The sentence stems from a 2014 embezzlement conviction that Navalny has rejected as fabricated and the European court has ruled to be unlawful. In its Tuesday's ruling, the ECHR pointed to Rule 39 of its regulations and obliged the Russian government to release Navalny, citing “the nature and extent of risk to the applicant's life.” “This measure shall apply with immediate effect,” the Strasbourg-based court said in a statement. The court noted that Navalny has contested Russian authorities' argument that they had taken sufficient measures to safeguard his life and well-being in custody following the nerve agent attack. Russian Justice Minister Konstantin Chuichenko rejected the court's ruling as a “clear and crude interference" into Russia's judicial system. “This demand is unfounded and unlawful because it doesn't indicate a single fact or a legal norm that would allow the court to make such verdict,” Chuichenko said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies. “This demand can't be fulfilled because there is no legal reason for that person to be released from custody under Russian law. Well aware of that, the European judges clearly have made a political decision that could only exacerbate restoring constructive relations with the Council of Europe's institutions." In the past, Moscow has abided by the ECHR's rulings awarding compensations to Russian citizens who have contested verdicts in Russian courts, but it never faced a demand by the European court to set a convict free. In a reflection of its simmering irritation with the European court's verdicts, Russia last year adopted a constitutional amendment declaring the priority of national legislation over international law. Russian authorities might now use that provision to reject the ECHR's ruling. Mikhail Yemelyanov, a deputy head of the legal affairs committee in the Kremlin-controlled lower house of parliament, pointed at the constitutional change, noting that it gives Russia the right to ignore the ECHR's ruling, according to the Interfax news agency. But Navalny's chief strategist Leonid Volkov argued that Russia's membership in the Council of Europe obliges it to fulfill the court's ruling. He warned on Facebook that the country risks losing its membership in the continent's top human rights organization if it fails to abide by the order. Navalny’s arrest and imprisonment fueled a wave of protests across Russia. Authorities responded with a sweeping crackdown, detaining about 11,000 people, many of whom were fined or given jail terms ranging from seven to 15 days. Russia has rejected Western criticism of Navalny’s arrest and the crackdown on demonstrations as meddling in its internal affairs. In televised remarks, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denounced the ECHR's ruling as a blow to international law and “part of a campaign to exert pressure on our country and meddle in our country's internal affairs." A court hearing on Navalny’s appeal of his sentence is scheduled for Saturday. He also has faced court proceedings in a separate case on charges of defaming a World War II veteran. Navalny, who called the 94-year-old veteran and other people featured in a pro-Kremlin video “corrupt stooges,” “people without conscience” and “traitors,” has rejected the slander charges and described them as part of official efforts to disparage him. With his usual sardonic humor, Navalny compared his conditions at the maximum-security Matrosskaya Tishina prison in Moscow to the isolation of a space traveler. “People in uniforms who come to me say only a few formulaic sentences, a light indicating a working video camera is seen on their chests — they look just like androids," he said in remarks posted on Instagram. “And just like in a movie about space travel, the ship's command center communicates with me. A voice from the intercom would say: ‘3-0-2, get ready for sanitary treatment.’ And I would answer: ‘OK, just give me 10 minutes to finish my tea.’” ........................................ Despotic Putin misunderstood Russian Dynamism, willface disgraceful humiliation/forced Exit.Despotic Putin misunderstood Russian Dynamism& could face disgraceful humiliation/forced Exit. As he has technicallyonly one term PM left and Medvedev has one term Presidency, whether Putin is astrong KGB Boss or not, or whether you can force with threat or not, the truthwill confront him badly and he will lose to Russia as Russia has great historywhere in past strong kings were overthrew and forced into exile. Since, Russians belongs to European Stocks, whichbears the known cradles of modern civilization, despite its Communism orSocialist background and definitely the Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putinwhose political attempts to despotically impose himself as a self-acclaimed KGBStrong man with his foisted Russian State Duma and Moscow Kremlin cow,intimidate, maneuver and manipulate Russians into submission as to run and ruleRussia for 3rd and 4th Russian President, will lead him to bloody confrontationand disgraceful humiliation. Russia was known to be ruled by exploitativeEmperors/Kings during red capitalism in past, but Russians used Communism orSocialism as running point to drove away their Emperors/Kings to exile and anyattempt to draw Russia back to one man feudalism, will backfire with direconsequences. The World and Russians should use Media andAdvice to counsel Putin to toe the right path of modernism and not to returnRussia to ugly past of feudalism or Autocrat Capitalism. Visit these published Articles' websites. http://maziliteralworks.wordpress.com http://maziliteralworks.blogspot.com https://medium.com/me/stories/public http://disqus.com/home/channel/mazipatrick/ https://maziliteralworks.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/Maziliteraworks Regards, Mazi Patrick  O., email: akwaba2000@gmail.com Thinker, Writer, Political Strategist, Historian & Psychoanalyst. As to publish our literal work,pls you/your company can assist us with anything.

NATO chief urges joint spending as budget debate rolls on.Donald Trump is no longer around as president to berate U.S. allies in Europe and Canada for failing to spend enough on their defense budgets. But the debate about military spending appears likely to continue to rage in NATO,even under President Joe Biden.

NATO chief urges joint spending as budget debate rolls on.Donald Trump is no longer around as president to berate U.S. allies in Europe and Canada for failing to spend enough on their defense budgets. But the debate about military spending appears likely to continue to rage in NATO,even under President Joe Biden. February 17, 2021 In an effort to improve “burden sharing” — the way the 30 member countries contribute cash, military hardware and troops to operations run by the world’s biggest security organization — Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg proposed Wednesday that the allies jointly fund more of NATO’s work. The plan would mean using a NATO budget to pay for battlegroups of troops on standby in member countries bordering Russia, aerial policing operations, the deployment of warships on permanent maritime duties or military exercises. It would not be used for active military operations outside NATO territory. “All these (military) capabilities are provided by allies, and those allies that provide those capabilities also cover all the costs. My proposal is that NATO should cover some of those costs," Stoltenberg told reporters after chairing talks between defense ministers, including new U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for the first time. The former Norwegian prime minister believes that by spending more together, members would also be demonstrating their commitment to defend each other if one comes under attack, which is the common defense clause enshrined in Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty. Early in his presidency, Trump stood outside NATO headquarters near a monument dedicated to the 9/11 attacks when the allies rallied to the defense of the United States and suggested that the U.S. might not come to the rescue of partners who fail to spend 2% of GDP on defense. That threat damaged trust within NATO. Stoltenberg said his plan would demonstrate a shared commitment “to Article 5, to deterrence and defense. It will incentivize allies to provide more capabilities for air policing, battlegroups, standing naval forces, and it will mean fairer burden sharing.” He said that it's not about spending more money but rather "how we spend the money, that we should spend more of our total funding for defense together.” Still, his plan surprised a few members of the 30-nation alliance and it remained unclear Wednesday whether it will win enough support. Some NATO diplomats have given it a cautious welcome. But questions remain over where the money would come from. NATO has a relatively small budget and much of it is taken up in administrative and infrastructure costs, like running the Brussels headquarters. Were countries to agree, the military component of that budget could be expanded. NATO already has a number of separate trust funds and few countries want to create more like those. Justifying greater military spending when budgets have already been ravaged by restrictions imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus is also hard to sell to weary citizens. There is also concern that certain countries might see it as a bailout for them when they should just be spending more, or that NATO’s ability to act might be slowed by more arguments over money. Some think it’s an ill-conceived plan, proposed without proper consultation and meant to mollify the United States. The funding would favor countries that do more within NATO, and the U.S. leads a battlegroup in Poland so its costs would be covered under such a budget. NATO members began to cut defense spending after the Cold War but were spurred back into action after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Since then, European allies and Canada have together spent an extra $190 billion on their national military budgets, according to Stoltenberg. Nine of the 30 countries are likely to spend the guideline figure of 2% of GDP this year — the U.S., Greece, Britain, Bulgaria, Estonia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania — up from three in 2014. U.S. spending has in fact declined since 2014, but the country still spends more than all of its allies combined. Even with this increased spending and the departure of Trump, America’s partners at NATO expect Biden to be just as demanding about military spending. The tone may have changed, but not the substance of a complaint that has been made by U.S. presidents for well over a decade.

Leaders from five West African nations and France agreed Tuesday to step up the fight against Islamic extremists in the Sahel region by deploying a new battalion from Chad, maintaining a strong French military presence and gradually building up a European task force.

France, West Africa step up counterterrorism efforts PARIS (AP) — Leaders from five West African nations and France agreed Tuesday to step up the fight against Islamic extremists in the Sahel region by deploying a new battalion from Chad, maintaining a strong French military presence and gradually building up a European task force. February 16, 2021 The leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger and Mauritania, in a final statement from their two-day summit in N’Djamena, Chad, hailed progress over the past year that they said had made the implementation of a clear military strategy possible. French President Emmanuel Macron, European officials and the heads of international organizations also attended the summit via videoconference. Speaking from Paris, Macron said he would maintain the number of French troops operating in the region at their current level at least until summer. The remark is an apparent reversal from previous statements Macron made in which he suggested that he favored a gradual reduction of troop levels. “I think that precipitating a French withdrawal or willing to massively withdraw soldiers - which is an option I studied - would be a mistake,” he said during a news conference. “This is the result of a discussion I had with each (Sahelian) leader.” France has about 5,100 troops deployed in the five West African countries, making it the country’s largest military operation abroad. “We must not release pressure on terrorist groups,” Macron said during Tuesday’s meeting. Macron said military operations should stay focused on the region bordering Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso - the epicenter of the fight against jihadist groups. The military will also this year “try to cut off the head” of al-Qaida-linked groups known as JNIM and the Macina Liberation Front, he said. President Idris Deby of Chad said his country would send 1,200 troops to the tri-border region between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Chad has said in the past that it would deploy soldiers to the region but did not. The leaders who attended the summit also vowed to further strengthen a regional force known as the G5 Sahel force that was launched in 2017. It is made up of soldiers from Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger and Mauritania who operate in cooperation with French troops. African and European officials called for long-term international financing of G5 Sahel. Macron said the force needs 40 million euros ($48.5 million) per year to stay operational. Burkina Faso is one of the hardest-hit countries in the region, with more than 1 million displaced people as a result of the violence. Civilians there civilians have lauded military gains made last year, pointing to how some people have started returning to the villages from which they were chased. “This was unexpected a year ago,” Armand Joseph Kabore, director of Labo Citoyennetes, a think tank in Burkina Faso told The Associated Press. Kabore said that while he appreciates international assistance, he thinks it’s time for African countries to find solutions and to be responsible for their own security. “In order to stop being eternally assisted, we have to grow up. Even a child who is born into the world must at some point be able to fly on his own,” he said. If France does reduce its troop commitment in the future, the region would have to find a solution to compensate its absence, Kabore noted. ”(The G5 Sahel) force has to be more present, more of a deterrent, and capable of efficiently opposing forces of evil,” he said. Other Sahel analysts don’t think the region is ready to go it alone. “The progress of the G5-Sahel is quite slow. We thought that right after the creation of this organization it would achieve concrete objectives, like strengthening the Sahel countries’ armies' capacity to face terrorism," Siaka Coulibaly, an analyst with the Center for Public Policy Monitoring by Citizens in Burkina Faso, said. "On this exact point, we realized that the countries aren’t really satisfactory.” Civil society groups in the Sahel say that the approach should be less military and more inclusive, one that focuses on good governance, development and reducing stigmatization of ethnic groups, said a statement from the Fulani community of the Sahel, a group that has been targeted by security forces for their alleged affiliation with jihadists. The leaders during the summit also pushed for an increasing role of the Takuba task force, a military group composed of European special forces. Macron said the task force should ultimately number 2,000 troops but didn’t disclose when it would reach that strength. The task force is currently composed of soldiers from France, the Czech Republic and Estonia and will be augmented by troops from Sweden and Italy in the coming months. According to Macron, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered summit participants the “first signal of the renewed commitment” of the new U.S. administration to maintain troops and military assets in the region. French troops have been present the Sahel region since 2013, when they intervened in Mali to expel Islamic extremist rebels from power. “France is not involved in ethnic or communitarian wars. No. Our presence on site has been requested by the states, it is in support of the sovereignty of these states and we are fighting against one common enemy... Islamist terrorism,” Macron said. The leaders also agreed that on top of military operations, efforts are needed to restore state mechanisms in the most vulnerable areas to support civilians and boost regional development. Mednick reported from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. ----------------------------------------- Macron recently attempted to modernize French industries,Politics & Economy,met the Putin/Trump planted French Destructive Challenges as Human Right NGOs/Far Right Activists,not Aware or Mindful of these Created French Sabotage/Saboteurs,as French Yellow Vest Protects,could last longer,as an Avenue to continue to access Large Putin Sponsorship Funds with Trump Secret Logistic Assistance, French President Emmanuel Macron non strategically & erroneously to modernize the French Economy/Polity,not mindful that France historically/politically engage in various international Exploitation and off Table Third World Businesses/Transactions,unlike Germany that its Economy on Factual industrial Production, Visible international Trade and industrial Indexes. French President Macron recently attempted to modernize French industries,Polities & Economy,met the Putin/Trump implanted French Destructive Walls/Challenges,not aware or mindful of these created French Sabotage with its international Collaboration confronted France,the Sympathetic Western Allies/People, Some piteous Asians & Sympathetic Arab were Dumb founded,got unprepared & could not assist french Situation,the World known liberal French Leader out of this violent confrontational Problem, which Macron run into,unprepared. Since,French Macron led the Liberal West with its liberal Allies,not the Far Rights Extremist Groups that engulfed the World nowadays with Racism, Destruction,Segregationist Policies and World  inhumanities. It is Time for any liberal/moderate Leader to read or study political Situation before embarking into any Governmental Policy or Political Decision,as there fueled ground waiting any any liberal/moderate Leader in the World today. ........................................................................... Huge Migrant Crisis,Trump induced Trade Tariff Economic Conflict/Crisis and Far Right/White Extremist Political Instability confronting West & US with its Allies nowadays, have testified Russia Vladimir Putin, as a groomed voodoo political/economic Crisis Expert and as a KGB trained Con Artist Expert/KGB insecurity Crisis Expert. Analysts were of opinion that Putin Russia KGB Elements/NGOs secretly organized, sponsored & tele-guided Stranded Mediterranean sea Migrants and Stranded US-Mexico border Migrants, as technical analysis or careful studies of some years back Migrants,could show that past migrants were resourceful, matured & well knowledgeable than present youthful migrants,as many present migrant do not have the required Resources or Maturity & traveling know-how,as to leave their various Countries,in order to be able to reach either Mediterranean sea or US-Mexico Border. Putin migrant problematic Designs were created to inflate the US or West with large Refugee Complex Problems and to create a migrant unsolvable situation where the US or West is portrayed in bad Media light as inhuman or not caring. Western Securities/Agents should be on the field, as to counter and checkmate this Putin Russia Migrant Crisis program as quickly as possible.  Putin led Russia Kremlin/KGB Hardliners accused US with its Western Allies for the collapse of former Soviet Union Republics,whereby  Putin with his Cohorts strategically nurtured & sponsored European Far Right Chauvinists/White Extremists and US White Extremist Conservatives,as to create Racial Divide Crisis, inflate Racial Inequalities, Economic Disharmony & to segregate US various Races/Classes from US flourishing Economy. Trump led Extremist Republicans after saying that Obama 8 years were disastrous,but upon Trump Office assumption, they asserted that Jobs were created and US Economy was turned around and performing,while the smallest Economy takes 2years to turn it around. View my articles on these websites: http://maziliteralworks.wordpress.com http://maziliteralworks.blogspot.com https://medium.com/me/stories/public http://disqus.com/home/channel/mazipatrick/ https://maziliteralworks.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/Maziliteraworks Regards, Mazi Patrick O. email: akwaba2000@gmail.com Thinker, Writer, Political Strategist, Historian & Psychoanalyst....

Dr. Anthony Fauci has won the $1 million Dan David Prize for “defending science” and advocating for vaccines now being administered worldwide to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The Israel-based Dan David Foundation on Monday named President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser as the winner of one of three prizes.

The Latest: Fauci wins $1 million for "defending science" TEL AVIV, Israel — Dr. Anthony Fauci has won the $1 million Dan David Prize for “defending science” and advocating for vaccines now being administered worldwide to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The Israel-based Dan David Foundation on Monday named President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser as the winner of one of three prizes. It said he had earned the recognition over a lifetime of leadership on HIV research and AIDS relief, as well as his advocacy for the vaccines against COVID-19. February 15, 2021 In its statement, the private foundation did not mention former President Donald Trump, who undermined Fauci’s follow-the-science approach to the pandemic. But it credited Fauci with “courageously defending science in the face of uninformed opposition during the challenging COVID crisis.” THE VIRUS OUTBREAK: — COVID-19 conspiracy shows the reach of Chinese disinformation around the world — Here's a look at the key superspreaders of virus disinformation — In Germany, carnival organizers found other ways to have fun — including floats poking fun at the likes of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. — Peru minister resigns amid uproar over government officials being vaccinated before country received 1M doses for health workers —Washington state’s Sound Transit system faces an $11.5 billion budget shortfall caused in part by the coronavirus pandemic — A pandemic that has wreaked havoc on the college basketball season is also reshaping the curve, leaving powerhouse programs on the tournament bubble — San Francisco is the latest California city to temporarily shutter a mass vaccination site due to lack of vaccine — Italy won't open its ski slopes due to fears of virus variants — Follow all of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING: GENEVA It’s nearly launch time for COVAX, the United Nations’ unprecedented program to deploy COVID-19 vaccines for hundreds of millions in need around the globe. More than two months after countries like Britain and the United States started immunizing their most vulnerable people, the U.N.’s health agency gave its approval to a vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, which should trigger the release of hundreds of millions of doses by COVAX. COVAX missed its own target of starting vaccination in poor countries at the same time as immunizations were rolled out in rich countries, and numerous developing countries have signed their own deals to buy vaccine, fearing the program won’t deliver. The World Health Organization and partners hope COVAX can finally start shipping out vaccines later this month. BOGOTA, Colombia Colombia received its first shipment of coronavirus vaccines on Monday and will soon begin to vaccinate its population of 50 million people, the third largest in Latin America. The government says it aims to vaccinate 35 million people this year including hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants and refugees who are currently living in the South American country. On Monday, a yellow DHL plane carrying Colombia’s first 50,000 vaccines arrived at Bogota’s international airport and was welcomed personally by President Ivan Duque and his health minister. The shots were supplied by Pfizer, which has a contract to sell 10 million vaccines to Colombia. “Today I want to thank God, I want to thank science” Duque said from a podium set up on the runway. “We will now walk forward with the “v” of vaccines. With the “v” of victory.” Colombia will be one of the last countries in Latin America to start vaccinations. MEXICO CITY Mexico began vaccinating senior citizens in more than 300 municipalities across the country Monday after receiving some 870,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Most of the effort was concentrated in remote rural communities, but in a few far-flung corners of the sprawling capital, hundreds of Mexicans over the age of 60 lined up before dawn for the chance to get vaccinated. The government has designated 1,000 vaccination sites, including schools and health centers, mostly in the country’s poorest communities. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador conceded Monday that bad weather and snow had kept the vaccine from arriving to some isolated areas in Mexico’s northwest. He said the armed forces, which are in charge of logistics for the vaccination campaign, were working to access those areas. Mexico started vaccinating health workers in mid-December with some 726,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine. MADRID Spanish hospitals are starting to discharge more COVID-19 patients than the ones they admit in, although authorities say that a waning rate of infection remains too high to relax pandemic restrictions. Health Ministry data showed that the share of hospital beds treating COVID-19 patients went from a 25% peak on Feb. 1 to 16.5% on Monday, with intensive care unit occupation in the same period dropping from 45% to 38% of the total, expanded capacity. Spain has halved its 14-day of infection rate following a sharp post-Christmas contagion surge by avoiding a strict lockdown and choosing instead to restrict inter-regional mobility, impose night-time curfews and limit social gatherings. The two-week rate dropped from nearly 900 cases per 100,000 residents at the end of January to 417 infections on Monday. The level is still considered of high risk and, according to Spain’s top coronavirus expert, Fernando Simón, “well above the goals established to relax some of the measures.” PRAGUE The Czech government has approved a plan for children and students to gradually return to schools in March. Education Minister Robert Plaga says the first to return on March 1 should be the students of the final grade at high schools and schoolchildren of the final grade of elementary schools. All students still will have to get tested at schools on a regular basis with the government ready to supply all the necessary tests. Monday’s announcement comes a day after the heads of all 14 regions in the country made it possible for the government to extend the state of emergency and keep in place coronavirus restrictions despite a previous refusal of Parliament to do so. The school reopening was one of the key conditions requested by the governors. Coronavirus infections in the Czech Republic remain at high levels. The nation of 10.7 million, has had more than 1 million confirmed cases, with 18,250 deaths. LONDON The daily number of people in the U.K. testing positive for the coronavirus has fallen below 10,000 for the first time since Oct. 2. Government figures on Monday show that 9,765 people tested positive for COVID-19. Infections have fallen sharply over the past few weeks from a high of 68,053 largely as a result of lockdown measures. The U.K.’s rapid rollout of coronavirus vaccines to the most at-risk groups has also helped. As of Monday, 15.3 million people in the U.K. have had their first dose of vaccine, or a little more than a quarter of the adult population. In addition to the fall in infections, the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 and dying have also come down. The government said another 230 people have died after testing positive for COVID-19, the lowest figure since Dec. 26 when the number of deaths was also 230. The U.K. has witnessed Europe’s deadliest outbreak, with 117,396 people dying in the 28 days after testing positive for the virus. WASHINGTON A top American epidemiologist says Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for reopening schools during the coronavirus pandemic are sufficient but schools will face major challenges in the coming weeks because of virus variants. Michael Osterholm is head of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy and was named to Joe Biden’s coronavirus task force before Biden became president. Osterholm says there’s low virus transmission at schools, especially for younger students, but virus variants are “a real red flag coming down the road.” Osterholm told CBS on Monday he thinks a virus variant from the United Kingdom in particular is going to cause such a surge in U.S. cases over the next 14 weeks that “a lot of schools are going to WASHINGTON The makers of COVID-19 vaccines are figuring out how to tweak their recipes against worrisome virus mutations — and regulators are looking to flu as a blueprint if and when the shots need an update. “It’s not really something you can sort of flip a switch, do overnight,” cautioned Richard Webby, who directs a World Health Organization flu center from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Viruses mutate constantly and it takes just the right combination of particular mutations to escape vaccination. But studies are raising concern that first-generation COVID-19 vaccines don’t work as well against a mutant that first emerged in South Africa as they do against other versions circulating around the world. The good news: Many of the new COVID-19 vaccines are made with new, flexible technology that’s easy to upgrade. What’s harder: Deciding if the virus has mutated enough that it’s time to modify vaccines — and what changes to make. BERLIN The European Union’s health agency is urging countries to address what it calls “pandemic fatigue” that is leading to increasing protests and unwillingness to follow virus restrictions. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said Monday that properly addressing pandemic fatigue was “a matter of urgency if further waves of infection are to be avoided.” The Stockholm-based agency said governments should emphasize the risk of more cases and deaths if hygiene measures are ignored and be transparent about uncertainties regarding issues such as the vaccine rollout, which has raised widespread hopes of an imminent end to lockdowns. ECDC said that the appearance of variants of the virus in the Europe posed a particular concern and could undo the drop in cases seen on the continent in recent weeks. The agency said countries should increase testing sequencing of samples for variants, warning that its analysis suggests unless pandemic restrictions such as mask wearing are continued or strengthened during the coming months, “a significant increase in COVID-19-related cases and deaths” in Europe can be expected. GENEVA, Switzerland The World Health Organization granted an emergency authorization to the coronavirus vaccine made by AstraZeneca, a move that should allow its partners to ship millions of doses to countries worldwide as part of a U.N.-backed program to stop the pandemic. In a statement on Monday, the U.N. health agency said it was greenlighting the AstraZeneca vaccines made by the Serum Institute of India and South Korea’s AstraZeneca-SKBio. “Countries with no access to vaccines to date will finally be able to start vaccinating their health workers and populations at risk,” said Dr Mariângela Simão, WHO Assistant-Director General for Access to Medicines and Health Products. ZAGREB, Croatia Croatia is another European Union state after Hungary that has shown interest in procuring Russian developed Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine after hiccups in deliveries of Western-made shots. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said Monday that Russia is ready to provide the vaccine and Croatia’s health authorities will decide on its use after approval from the European Medicines Agency. Croatia earlier this month launched its vaccination campaign with AstraZeneca shots, imposing none of the age limits that have been put in place by some other EU states. Hungary has become the first EU member to start using Sputnik V and hopes to deploy China’s Sinopharm vaccine soon, despite neither having received approval from EU’s medicines regulator. Non-EU member Serbia has been the first to start administering both the Russian as well as Chinese vaccines in Europe, helping it become one of the top states on the continent in the speed of the vaccination rollout. BEIRUT Coronavirus case numbers are stabilizing in parts of the Middle East but the situation remains critical, with more than a dozen countries reporting cases of new variants, the World Health Organization said Monday. Ahmed al-Mandhari, director of WHO’s eastern Mediterranean region, which comprises most of the Middle East, said in a press briefing from Cairo that at least one of the three new coronavirus variants was reported in the 13 countries in the region. He did not name the countries. All three of the new variants are more contagious, according to WHO. Al-Mandhari said there are nearly 6 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the region and about 140,000 deaths. WHO urged people to continue taking precautionary measures against the virus. LONDON Britain’s newly established quarantine hotels have received their first guests as the government tries to prevent new variants of the coronavirus from derailing its fast-moving vaccination drive. Passengers arriving at London’s Heathrow Airport on Monday morning were escorted by security guards to buses that took them to nearby hotels. Britain has given a first dose of coronavirus vaccine to almost a quarter of the population, but health officials are concerned that vaccines may not work as well on some new strains of the virus, including one first identified in South Africa. Under the new rules, people arriving in England from 33 high-risk countries must stay in designated hotels for 10 days at their own expense, with meals delivered to their door. In Scotland the rule applies to arrivals from any country. THE HAGUE, Netherlands Some 500 people have gathered in a theater in the central Dutch city of Utrecht for the first in a series of test events aimed at charting a path toward a post-pandemic normality for large-scale gatherings. Economic Affairs Minister Mona Keijzer says that, “returning to normal, whether it’s a conference with your colleagues, a sports match or a concert: everyone wants that.” When that might be possible remains unclear. The Netherlands is in a tough lockdown until at least next month, with large-scale gatherings banned altogether, shops, bars, restaurants and museums closed and sports like professional soccer happening behind closed stadium doors. Participants in Monday’s trial had to present a negative COVID-19 test result, had their temperatures taken on arrival and will have to undergo another test after attending the event. The government says it will use data gathered at the event to help decide “how to work toward safe and responsible events” in the future. The event came with Dutch infections on a gradual downward trend in recent weeks and vaccinations ramping up after a slow start that made the Netherlands become the last of the 27 European Union nations to begin its vaccination campaign. BRUSSELS The EU’s anti-fraud office, OLAF, is urging member states to be vigilant against scammers offering to sell fake COVID-19 vaccines as the 27-nation bloc faces delays in the supply of shots. In a statement Monday, OLAF said it was made aware of a number of reports of scammers offering to sell vaccines in a bid to defraud EU governments trying to speed up the pace of vaccination. The EU has been criticized for a slow rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in comparison with other parts of the world, lagging behind the pace of countries like Britain or Israel. The EU commission has signed six contracts for more than 2 billion doses of various coronavirus vaccines, but only three of them have been approved for use so far and the delivery of shots has been disturbed by production delays.