Agency Reporter

US President Joe Biden urged European powers Friday to work together to curb Iran’s “destabilising” activities in the Middle East, a day after committing to rejoin talks on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Biden told the Munich Security Conference that the United States would work closely with allies in dealing with Iran after his predecessor Donald Trump took an aggressive unilateral approach.

“The threat of nuclear proliferation also continues to require careful diplomacy and cooperation among us,” Biden told fellow leaders via teleconference.

“That’s why we have said we’re prepared to reengage in negotiations with the P5+1 on Iran’s nuclear program,” he said, referring to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany.

“We must also address Iran’s destabilising activities across the Middle East, and we’re going to work in close cooperation with our European and other partners as we proceed.”

Biden’s remarks came after his administration agreed to return to nuclear talks with Iran led by European allies, after Trump withdrew from the 2015 agreement which had put a hold Tehran’s nuclear program.

Read Also; Biden to pursue arms control, seeks to engage China

After Trump pulled out in 2018 and aggressively placed sanctions on many Iranian individuals and organizations to punish the country, the Islamic republic resumed enrichment and development activities in alleged violation of the pact.

On Thursday State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington had accepted an invitation by the European Union political director Enrique Mora for an “informal” meeting involving Iran.

Price said the meeting would “discuss a diplomatic way forward.”

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said there was currently no such thing as P5+1 “because of US withdrawal” from the agreement.

“Gestures are fine. But to revive P5+1, US must Act: LIFT sanctions. We WILL respond,” the spokesman tweeted.

A senior US official said the Biden administration was showing good faith and saw a meeting as the start of a “prolonged path” to restoring and building on the nuclear accord.

If Iran declines to meet, “I think it would be… unfortunate,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

Biden was not specific about what he meant by Iran’s destabilising activities.

But his comments came in the wake of a missile attack on a military base housing US and coalition forces in northern Iraq that killed a foreign contractor working for the US military and injured 14, including a US soldier and contract workers.

Washington has not laid blamed for the attack. But the missiles appeared identical to those used by Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups in attacks in Baghdad.

After the US opening Thursday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the United States has no plan to ease sanctions or take other steps such as issuing an executive order about returning to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal before possible talks with Iran and major powers, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Friday.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One as U.S. President Joe Biden flew to Michigan, Psaki said “there is no plan to take additional steps” on Iran in advance of having a “diplomatic conversation.”

Asked if the Biden administration was considering an executive order about reviving the agreement, Psaki noted the European Union has floated the idea of a conversation among Iran and the six major powers who struck the agreement: Britain, China, France, Germany Russia and the United States.

“The Europeans have invited us and … it is simply an invitation to have a conversation, a diplomatic conversation. We don’t need additional administrative steps to participate in that conversation,” she said.

Tehran had demanded that the US lifts all sanctions imposed by Trump, maintaining a threat to restrict access to UN nuclear inspectors.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that Iran would “immediately reverse” its retaliatory measures if the US lifts “all sanctions imposed, re-imposed or re-labelled by Trump.”

Earlier Thursday US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned jointly with European powers that restricting the inspectors would be a “dangerous” move

(newsnow.co.uk)

Agency Reporter

Moscow announced on Saturday that it had registered its third vaccine against the coronavirus and promised to introduce the jab to the Russian population by March.

Russia was the first country to register a vaccine against COVID-19 in August ahead of clinical trials, and the Sputnik V jab has been authorized in more than two dozen countries around the world.

“Today we note that a third vaccine, CoviVac, has been registered,” Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a government meeting broadcast on state television.

“And already in mid-March, the first 120,000 doses will be distributed within the civilian circulation,” he told the cabinet.

First greeted with skepticism, the effectiveness of Sputnik V was confirmed by the Lancet medical journal earlier this month.

Read Also: COVID-19: NAFDAC approves emergency use of AstraZeneca vaccine

Moscow relied on the nationwide rollout of the vaccine to stave off the impact of a second wave of infections that battered the country late last year.

But mortality data released recently revealed that Russia’s death rate was still one of the highest in the world.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in October that the country had registered its second vaccine, EpiVacCorona, which health officials had said would enter mass production this month.

Mishustin said Saturday that Russia had produced 10 million doses of Sputnik and 80,000 batches of the EpiVacCorona vaccine developed by the Siberian Vektor laboratory.

With the introduction of the third jab Saturday, the prime minister said that: “Today Russia is the only country in which there are already three vaccines for the prevention of COVID infection.”

CoviVac was produced by the state-run Chumakov Centre based in Moscow, which employed a different method of development from Sputnik and EpiVacCorona, using an inactive virus.

The vaccine is due to complete a final stage clinical trial with 3,000 participants in March and has so far been recommended for people below the age of 60.

Agency Reporter

Three separate explosions in the Afghan capital Kabul on Saturday killed at least five people and wounded two others, a police official said, amid a surge in violence in the war-torn country.

Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said the first two explosions took place 15 minutes apart and a third targeting a police vehicle took place two hours later.

No group immediately claimed responsibility.

The majority of bomb attacks in the capital Kabul in recent months have been sticky bombs — explosive devices with magnets that are attached to vehicles and detonated by remote control or timer.

Read Also; Two shot dead as explosion injures seven kids in Kaduna

The second explosion targeted a car in a northwestern Kabul neighborhood in which national army soldiers were traveling, killing two soldiers. A civilian passerby was also killed.

The third explosion destroyed a police car in western Kabul killing two police officers. Meanwhile, the first blast targeted a civilian car wounding both travelers inside the vehicle.

Kabul police said investigations were underway.

Afghanistan has seen a nationwide spike in bombings, targeted killings and violence on the battlefield as peace negotiations in Qatar between the Taliban and the Afghan government have stalled.

The Islamic State group’s local affiliate has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks, but many go unclaimed, with the government putting the blame on the Taliban. The insurgents have denied responsibility for most of the attacks.

(newsnow.co.uk)

Agency Reporter

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged West African leaders to step up efforts in the fight against militants in the Sahel region on both the military and political fronts, with support from the international community.

Macron joined the summit by video that was being held in NDjamena, Chad, with the leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger and Mauritania.

“The challenge of the NDjamena summit is to take a next step, further and stronger,” Macron said from Paris.

“We must not release pressure on terrorist groups.”

He said military operations should keep focusing on the region bordering Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, the epicentre of the fight against militant groups.

Macron also said France has no immediate plans to adjust its military presence in Africa’s Sahel region, and any changes will depend on other countries contributing troops, in a news conference on Tuesday after the summit.

“Significant changes will undoubtedly be made to our military system in the Sahel in due course, but they will not take place immediately,” Macron said.

France, the region’s former colonial power, is searching for an exit strategy after years of military intervention against militant groups.

Its counter-insurgency operation in the Sahel has cost billions and seen 55 French soldiers killed, yet violence is persisting with signs it is spreading to coastal West Africa.

Last year, Paris boosted its troop numbers for its Barkhane counterterrorism operations by 600 to 5,100 soldiers.

France first sent troops into Mali in early 2013 to defeat militant groups that had seized control of the country’s northern half, with the Barkhane operation formally starting in August 2014. The force has claimed successes on the ground.

But Macron, who faces a re-election fight next year, is also aware of the perils faced by French soldiers, 50 of whom have now been killed since 2013.

Macron indicated that he would reassess the situation after the summer, saying there should be an “evolution” of the French contingent into a lighter presence.

“In the coming months we will not change our presence. We hope that we will have concrete results in terms of security in the very next months, for me this means between now and the summer,” Macron said.

“Beyond summer, I want to work with our partners for an evolution of our presence to consolidate our military victory in the region,” he added.

Without giving a timescale, he indicated that over time, the work should be taken over by the French-led Takuba multinational task force.

He said the aim was to have a 2,000-member Takuba force, with a French contingent of 500 soldiers at its core, in close cooperation with the national armies of the region.

The fledgling Takuba force has already seen Czech, Swedish and Estonian troops deployed in the region.

“We are not going to do this immediately but this is what we envisage over time,” Macron said.

Agency Reporter

United States (U.S) Joe Biden administration has reopened the option for the American public to sign up for government-subsidised health insurance.

An executive order that Biden signed gives millions who lost insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic the opportunity to enroll online at HealthCare.gov. The special enrollment period runs up to May 15.

The Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), according with the Executive Order, announced that the Special Enrollment Period for the Health Insurance Marketplace will be available to consumers in the 36 states that use the HealthCare.gov platform.

No fewer than 13 states and the District of Columbia, which operate their own Marketplace platforms, have decided to offer a similar opportunity.

CMS said individuals and families who are uninsured can take this opportunity to look for coverage and find out if they qualify for financial assistance to help pay for health insurance.

Currently, nine out of 10 consumers enrolled in coverage through HealthCare.gov receive financial help and 75 per cent of consumers can purchase a plan for 50 dollars or less per month after financial assistance.

In addition, all of the plans at HealthCare.gov cover essential health benefits, such as primary care visits, and cover many preventive care services with no out-of-pocket costs to the consumer.

“We need to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and give more Americans access to health care, especially during this pandemic”, Biden said in a statement.

HHS Acting Secretary Norris Cochran said that CMS intends to release data on consumer activities during the SEP for each month as consumers apply and enroll in coverage.

The first report is anticipated in early March, which will cover consumers who applied and enrolled through SEP in February and have coverage starting March 1.

CMS intends to release a monthly report for February, March, and April, and then a final report after May 15 covering the full period.

Consumers who want to access the SEP to enroll in coverage and see if they qualify for financial help to reduce the cost of monthly   premiums can visit HealthCare.gov or CuidadoDeSalud.gov  to view 2021 plans and prices and enroll in a plan that best meets their needs, the Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services said in a statement.

Police in Myanmar have filed a new charge against deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her lawyer said yesterday.

The additional count against Suu Kyi came as Myanmar’s military held its first news conference, two weeks after it ousted the democratically elected leader, detained key government officials and formed a new ruling junta.

Suu Kyi’s lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told CNN that she had been charged in relation to a national disaster law, in addition to the earlier count under the country’s import and export act. She appeared in a court hearing via video conference on Tuesday, according to Zaw.

Suu Kyi was the country’s de facto civilian leader before being deposed and detained on February 1. At the time, she was charged for breaching import-export laws, which has been described as “trumped up.”

Her detention was due to expire Monday, but she will remain in custody until her next court hearing on March 1. Zaw hopes to file an application for her to be released on bail after he is officially approved as her legal representation at the next hearing.

In yesterday news conference, Brig. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for the ruling council, reinforced what he said was the military’s intent to hold elections “and hand power to the winning party”. The military has yet to provide an election date, but it has declared a state of emergency that will last for one year.

 

 

Suu Kyi’s party, the NLD, claimed an overwhelming victory in elections in November, taking 83% of the vote, which granted it another five years in government.

Zaw Min Tun described the protests since the takeover as unlawful, accusing protesters of attacking police and “behaving as terrorists.”

He added that Suu Kyi and President Myint Swe, who is also detained, are “in good health.”

Hundreds of thousands of people have joined protests and civil disobedience campaigns in the wake of the coup. People have been seen on the streets in Yangon, Dawei and Myitkyina holding “Civil Disobedience Movement” signs and “Free our leader” banners featuring pictures of Suu Kyi.

The demonstrations have swelled to include people from all sections of society, including a strike by government workers as part of a mass civil disobedience movement.

The military in turn has escalated its crackdown. On Sunday, security forces in the country’s northern Kachin state fired on protesters at a power plant.

In Mandalay, a demonstrator told CNN he saw uniformed security forces firing rubber bullets and using slingshots in the direction of a crowd of peaceful protesters, causing them to flee. CNN has attempted to reach out to the military for a response.