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United States President Joe Biden - bussiness insider

United States President Joe Biden has directed his administration to order another 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, growing a likely US surplus of doses later this year while much of the rest of the world struggles with deep shortages.

Even before Wednesday's (Mar 10) order, the US was to have enough approved vaccine delivered by mid-May to cover every adult, and enough for 400 million people in total by the end of July.

The new J&J doses, which would cover another 100 million people, are expected to be delivered in the latter half of the year.

White House aides said Biden’s first priority is ensuring that Americans are vaccinated before considering distributing doses elsewhere.

“We want to be oversupplied and overprepared,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday, saying Biden wanted contingencies in the event of any unforeseen issues with the existing production timeline.“We still don’t know which vaccine will be most effective on kids,” she added. “We still don’t know the impact of variants or the need for booster shots. And these doses can be used for booster shots as well as needed. Obviously that’s still being studied by the FDA, but again, we want to be over-prepared as I noted earlier.”

Biden's announcement comes as the White House has rebuffed requests from US allies, including Mexico, Canada and the European Union, for vaccine doses produced in the US, where months of production runs have produced vaccine solely for use in the country.

China has pledged roughly half a billion doses of its vaccines to more than 45 countries, according to a country-by-country tally by the Associated Press. Four of China’s many vaccine makers are claiming they will be able to produce at least 2.6 billion doses this year.

Russia has sent millions of doses of its Sputnik V vaccine to countries around the world, even as it vaccinates its own population. Analysts say a goal of this vaccine diplomacy is to bolster Russia’s image as a scientific, technological and benevolent power, especially as other countries encounter shortages of COVID-19 vaccines because richer nations are scooping up the Western-made versions.

Israel, which has vaccinated more than half of its population with Pfizer vaccines produced in Europe, has also attempted to use vaccine diplomacy to reward allies.

Biden did move to have the US contribute financially to the United Nations and World Health Organization-backed COVAX alliance, which will help share vaccines with more than 90 lower- and middle-income nations, but it has yet to commit to sharing any doses.

Biden's purchasing strategy has come under criticism from non-governmental organisations who have encouraged the White House to develop clear plans and thresholds for sharing vaccines with the world.

“The only way to defeat this virus for good is to defeat it everywhere - and that requires an immediate plan for sharing excess vaccine doses globally,” said Sarah Swinehart, senior director for communications at the ONE Campaign.

Asked about the surplus on Wednesday, Biden told reporters that “if we have a surplus, we’re going to share it with the rest of the world”.

"This is not something that can be stopped by a fence no matter how high you build a fence or a wall. So we’re not going to be ultimately safe until the world is safe,” acknowledged Biden. “So, we’re going to start off making sure Americans are taken care of first, but we’re then going to try to help the rest of the world."//CNA

UN urges foreign troops and mercenaries to leave Libya - Daily Sabah

The United Nations Security Council on Friday (Mar 12) urged countries with troops and mercenaries in Libya to withdraw them “without delay” as demanded in the ceasefire agreement between the country’s warring parties.

A presidential statement approved by all 15 council members welcomed a key step following the October ceasefire - Wednesday's vote by the country’s House of Representatives endorsing the newly appointed interim government charged with leading the country to elections on Dec 24.

The UN’s most powerful body called on all Libyan parties to ensure a smooth handover to the interim government of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.

Oil-rich Libya was plunged into chaos after a 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi and split the country between a UN-supported government in Tripoli and rival authorities based in the country’s east, each side backed by an array of local militias as well as regional and foreign powers.

In April 2019, Khalifa Haftar and his forces, backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, launched an offensive to try and capture Tripoli.

His campaign collapsed after Turkey stepped up its military support of the UN-supported government with hundreds of troops and thousands of Syrian mercenaries.

The October ceasefire agreement called for the withdrawal of all foreign forces and mercenaries in three months and adherence to a UN arms embargo, provisions which have not been met.

In January, the United States called on Russia, Turkey and the UAE to immediately halt their military interventions. Russia’s UN Mission said at the time that it didn’t have any military personnel “on Libyan soil” but didn’t exclude the possibility of mercenaries.

Last year, UN experts said the Wagner Group, a private Russian security company, had provided between 800 and 1,200 mercenaries to Haftar. There are thousands of mercenaries in Libya also from Syria, Sudan and Chad, according to Security Council diplomats.

The presidential statement also calls for “full compliance with the arms embargo", which has been repeatedly violated according to the experts.

A UN advance team is in Libya as a first step to sending international monitors under a UN umbrella to observe the ceasefire. It is expected to return next week.

The Security Council underlined “the importance of a credible and effective Libyan-led ceasefire monitoring mechanism under UN auspices”. Council members said they look forward to receiving proposals from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after the advance team returns on its “tasks and scale".

The council statement called on the interim government to make preparations for December’s presidential and parliamentary elections “including arrangements to ensure the full, equal and meaningful participation of women”.

It also called on the interim government to prioritise the implementation of the October ceasefire agreement, improve the delivery of services to the Libyan people, launch a comprehensive national reconciliation process and adhere to international humanitarian law including the protection of civilians.

Looking ahead, the council said plans are needed “for the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of armed groups, security sector reform and to establish an inclusive, civilian-led security architecture for Libya as a whole”.

A presidential statement is a step below a Security Council resolution and becomes part of its official record//CNA

Protesters with placards with the image of detained Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi hold a candlelight vigil and shout slogans during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon. (Photo: AFP/STR)

The US government said Friday (Mar 12) that Myanmar citizens stranded by the violence following the country's military coup would be able to remain inside the United States under "temporary protected status."

"Due to the military coup and security forces' brutal violence against civilians, the people of Burma (Myanmar) are suffering a complex and deteriorating humanitarian crisis in many parts of the country," said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas."After a thorough review of this dire situation, I have designated Burma for temporary protected status so that Burmese nationals and habitual residents may remain temporarily in the United States."The United States has granted TPS protection to nationals of a number of countries struck by political upheavals or natural disasters, making their return difficult.

The protection is usually set for a limited period, like 12 months, but can be extended if the hardships or threats remain.

DHS said the Feb 1 takeover by Myanmar's military has led to an economic crisis and shortages of humanitarian and medical aid.

In addition, it said the people protesting the coup face arbitrary detention, intimidation and lethal violence from the military."Such conditions prevent Burmese nationals and habitual residents from returning safely," the department said in a statement.

The initial TPS order will last 18 months. DHS did not say how many people would be covered by it.

Earlier this week the administration of President Joe Biden offered TPS for tens of thousands of Venezuelans who fled political repression and economic chaos in the once wealthy South American country//CNA

French Prime Minister Jean Castex - Nasdaq

The COVID-19 situation in the Paris region is extremely tense and authorities are ready to take new measures, French Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Friday (Mar 4), but he did not announce a tightening of curfew or new regional lockdowns.

Despite rising COVID-19 cases, the administration of President Emmanuel Macron has not to date declared a new national lockdown, opting instead to tighten measures locally in hard-hit towns like Nice and Dunkirk, but Paris has been spared so far.

"I call on everyone, and especially those who live in the capital, to be extremely careful, wear the mask and respect social distancing. The aim is to reduce the pressure on the hospital system," Castex said during a visit to a hospital.The number of people with COVID-19 in intensive care units on Friday exceeded 4,000 for the first time since Nov.26, with nearly 1,100 COVID-19 patients in ICUs in the Paris region alone.France confirmed 25,229 new infections on Friday, taking its total number of COVID-19 cases to above four million. 

Friday's increase was lower than the 23,507 new cases reported last Friday, and took the total number of confirmed infections since the start of the pandemic to 4.01 million.

In Paris and the surrounding region, healthcare managers say the intensive care units are close to being overloaded.

Castex said that in the Ile-de-France region around Paris the vaccination campaign would be sped up this weekend, with the delivery of 25,000 extra doses.

France's vaccination programme has been hampered by logistical bottlenecks and problems with deliveries from vaccine manufacturers but Castex said the campaign was speeding up, with 320,326 shots administered on Friday, a new record.As of Friday, 7.04 million people - more than one tenth of the French population - had been vaccinated, official figures showed, including 2.22 million second injections//CNA