Month: March 2022

Officials on Wednesday said that the United States and ambassadors in the European Union have issued new economic sanctions against Belarus for assisting Russia in its attack on Ukraine The penalties will be levied for Belarus allowing Russia to use its country as a staging ground to launch the invasion. Russian forces attacked Ukraine from the north in three-pronged strategies coming from Belarus.

The EU sanctions will target certain sectors of the Belarusian economy — including the wood, steel and potash sectors, officials said.  The French EU presidency said the measures will be published in the Official Journal of the EU for “entry into force.”

The sanctions come after Britain and the United States both imposed sanctions against Belarus for aiding Russia in the Ukraine invasion. The United States announced a new set of sanctions on Russia and Belarus on Wednesday, including export controls on Belarus and preventing technology and software from getting to either country. The U.S. also sanctioned 22 Russian defense-related entities that provide items for the Russian military.

,U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday: “We will choke off Belarus’ ability to import key technologies. And if [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko’s support for the war continues, the consequences for his regime will escalate.”

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The White House unveiled a new COVID-19 preparedness and management plan on Wednesday that details steps to prevent infection, keep serious illness and deaths down and be ready for potential new variants – emphasizing that Americans “are no longer going to let COVID-19 dictate how we live.”  The White House said that the main takeaway from the 96-page National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan (which can be read in full here) emphasizes vaccines, COVID-19 treatments, and preparation for emerging variants, but without serious disruptions to the economy, educational institutions and businesses nationwide.

A statement from The White House read: “This plan lays out the roadmap to help us fight COVID-19 in the future as we move America from crisis to a time when COVID-19 does not disrupt our daily lives and is something we prevent, protect against, and treat. President Biden will not accept just ‘living with COVID’ any more than we accept living with cancer, Alzheimer’s or AIDS. Because of our work, we are no longer going to let COVID-19 dictate how we live.”

The plan adds a focus on guarding against COVID-19 and treating the virus, including a “test to treat” program that would allow people to receive antiviral treatment pills immediately after testing positive, and developing a game plan for any new variants.   It noted that 1 million antiviral pills will be available by the end of March, and twice that amount will be ready in April.   The plan summarizes: “We look to the future when Americans no longer fear lockdowns, shutdowns and our kids not going to school. It’s a future when the country relies on the powerful layers of protection we have built and invests in the next generation of tools to stay ahead of the virus.”

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During his first State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Joe Biden announced that the United States will close off its airspace to all Russian flights in response to its invasion of Ukraine.  Biden said the move would further isolate Russia, which is already facing sanctions and similar restrictions from U.S. allies and other nations throughout the world in response to what he called a “premeditated and unprovoked” attack by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Said Biden: “Throughout our history, we’ve learned this lesson — when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos. They keep moving. And the costs and threats to America and the world keep rising.”  Biden added that Putin “rejected efforts at diplomacy” in carrying out the invasion, saying, “He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. And he thought he could divide us here at home. Putin was wrong. We were ready.”

Biden said the United States has given more than $1 billion in direct assistance to Ukraine and will continue to aid the Ukrainian people, but reiterated that the U.S. “are not engaged and will not engage” in conflict with the Russian forces in Ukraine. Biden noted that U.S. forces have been mobilized to protect countries including Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, stating: “Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO Allies — in the event that Putin decides to keep moving west.”

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On Tuesday, the 31 countries in the International Energy Agency agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves “to send a strong message to oil markets” that supplies won’t fall short after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  Besides the United States, other members of the organization include Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada. IEA members hold emergency stockpiles of 1.5 billion barrels of oil. The release amounts to 4% of stockpiles, or roughly 2 million barrels per day for 30 days.  It’s only the fourth time in history that the IEA has done a coordinated drawdown since the reserves were established in the wake of the Arab oil embargo in 1974.

The board of the Paris-based IEA made the decision at a meeting of energy ministers chaired by U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who said in a statement that President Biden approved a commitment of 30 million barrels and that the U.S. is ready to “take additional measures” if needed.  The group’s “decision reflects our common commitment to address significant market and supply disruptions related to President Putin’s war on Ukraine,” Granholm said.

Russia plays an outsized role in global energy markets as the third-largest oil producer. Its exports of 5 million barrels of crude per day amount to about 12% of the global oil trade. Some 60% goes to Europe and another 20% to China.  IEA executive director Fatih Birol said:  “The situation in energy markets is very serious and demands our full attention. Global energy security is under threat, putting the world economy at risk during a fragile stage of the recovery.”’

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Airbnb said Monday it would provide free temporary housing to as many as 100,000 refugees leaving Ukraine. The announcement came shortly after the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Monday that more than 500,000 refugees have now fled Ukraine. That number has increased from the 150,000 that had crossed Ukraine’s borders by Saturday.

Airbnb said in a statement that the housing will be provided by the company along with donors to its refugee fund, with along with “the generosity of hosts” on the platform.  The company has sent initial letters offering its assistance to countries including Poland, Germany, Hungary and Romania.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said in a statement on Twitter that the company needs more help from people who can offer their homes and provided a link for those who would like to sign up to be involved.   He added: “We know that hosts and guests on Airbnb around the world will be eager to stand up and assist this massive effort to help those fleeing Ukraine. Airbnb.org will work directly through nonprofits on the ground, who are responsible for booking and coordinating stays for refugee guests, regardless of nationality, race, ethnicity, or how they identify.”

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Students in California, Oregon and Washington will no longer be required to wear masks at school as part of new indoor mask policies all three states announced jointly on Monday. The three governors said in a joint statement: “With declining case rates and hospitalizations across the West, California, Oregon and Washington are moving together to update their masking guidance.”  Separately, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Sunday that the statewide school mask mandate will end Wednesday, March 2nd.

The new guidance will make face coverings a recommendation rather than a requirement at most indoor places in California starting today (Tuesday, March 1st) and at schools on March 12, regardless of vaccination status. In Washington and Oregon, all the requirements will lift on March 12. Federal mask requirements will still apply in high-risk indoor settings such as public transportation, airports and taxis. Rules for other high-risk indoor settings could also vary by state.

The announcement also comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased the federal mask guidance Friday, saying the majority of Americans don’t need to wear masks in many indoor public places, including schools. The new CDC guidance bases recommendations for restrictions such as masking on a new set of measures, with less focus on positive test results and more on what’s happening at hospitals. Under the new system, the CDC said that more than 70% of Americans live in places where the coronavirus poses a low or medium threat to hospitals and therefore can stop wearing masks in most indoor places. The CDC had endorsed universal masking in schools regardless of virus levels in the community since July, but it now recommends masks in schools only in counties at high risk.

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/california-oregon-washington-end-school-mask-mandates-83162388

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