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Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Guatemala: US ending accord that sent asylum seekers back – The Washington Post

“The Guatemalan government welcomes the statements of President Joe Biden regarding his administration’s commitment to our country and the region,” according to the statement.

As of December, only 20 of 939 Hondurans and El Salvadorans who have been turned back from the U.S. and flown to Guatemala decided to seek asylum there, and none of those have gained final approval. With so many returning to their home countries instead, the policy instituted by former president Donald Trump became known as “deportation with a layover.”

Source: Guatemala: US ending accord that sent asylum seekers back – The Washington Post

Libya Rival Factions Elect ‘Historic’ Transition Government

By electing leaders with less political baggage, Libya’s representatives appear to be looking for a government that will face as little friction with both sides in the conflict. While Egypt backed the candidacy of Saleh and Bashaga to rule together, the LPDF decided otherwise.

Libya’s new prime minister is not without controversy however, as Abdulhamid Dbeibeh comes from a prominent family that is seen as corrupt by many Libyans. Yet, there are few elites that do not face such suspicions in Libya.

Despite some lingering doubts about the forum’s chosen leaders, the election nonetheless marks another step in the remarkable and unexpected path to peace in Libya. The interim government will now be tasked with organizing the national elections in December.

Source: Libya Rival Factions Elect ‘Historic’ Transition Government

COVAX: WHO to Send Doses of AstraZeneca Vaccines to Morocco

As part of its COVAX program to mitigate the far-reaching consequences of the unequal distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, the World Health Organization (WHO) is planning to send 1,881,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines to Morocco.

In an 11-page document published this week, the Global Alliance for Vaccines (Gavi), the body that manages the WHO’s Covax initiative, provided what appeared to be preliminary details about vaccines distribution to low and middle-income countries participating in the WHO’s vaccine program. 

“In line with initial guidance delivered on 22 January, and building on the publication of the 2021 COVAX global and regional supply forecast, the COVAX Facility is pleased to share the following forecast on early availability of doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine to Facility participants,” reads part of the document’s sanguine introduction.

Over 337 million doses of the vaccines developed by AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech will be distributed initially to 145 countries, covering 3.3 percent of their populations, it noted.

Per Gavi’s announcement, 15 percent of these doses are expected to be delivered by the end of March, with another 56 percent to be delivered by the end of June 2021. The remaining doses are expected to be delivered in the second half of the year. Morocco, an active COVAX participant and supporter, could receive 1,881,600 doses of AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines by the end of June this year.

Room for change

Gavi explained, however, that its forecasts of the expected delivery are mainly based on current data on vaccine manufacturing.The suggestion is that details about the delivery time — and even the number of doses per participant country — could change with new developments.

“It is important to underscore that the indicative distribution is based on current communication of estimated availability from manufacturers. In this regard, it is likely the distribution may need to be adjusted in light of circumstances that are difficult to anticipate and variables that are constantly evolving,” said the document. 

Meanwhile, vaccine quotas as defined for each COVAX partner country are set to be proportional to the size of the population. 

This means countries that will receive the largest number of doses during the first six months of Gavi’s “indicative distribution” period are India (97.2 million), Pakistan (17.2 million), Nigeria (16 million), Indonesia (13.7 million), Bangladesh (12.8 million), and Brazil (10.7 million).

Other than population size, Gavi suggested the realization of its forecasts may also depend on several other factors, such as the state of preparedness of the concerned countries. 

“No doses will be allocated in the final allocation if a participant is deemed not ready… which may cause variations in the quantities allocated to the other participants,” it explained.

Also important is the state of the global supply chain regarding COVID-19 vaccines. To date, Gavi only has an agreement with the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccines, while discussions “are currently underway” between the WHO and AstraZeneca. 

But, Gavi’s document pointed out, “if during this period different products become available, this indicative distribution will need to be adjusted as different products may be allocated to a Facility participant and therefore the quantities indicated for the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine (both AZ/SII and AZ) may be altered.”

Morocco’s vaccination campaign

For Morocco, meanwhile, the WHO’s promised 1,881,600 doses of COVID-19 vaccines would be a welcome addition to those the Moroccan government has already ordered. 

Morocco launched its vaccination campaign on January 28, after receiving its first shipments of vaccines directly ordered from China’s Sinopharm and AstraZeneca’s Indian plant.

So far, Morocco has vaccinated more than 300,000, and official reports suggest the vaccination campaign is taking place in “excellent conditions.”  

The North African country has to this date only received a fraction of the total number of doses it has ordered (2.5 million out of 60 million) from both AstraZeneca and Sinopharm. Health Minister Khalid Ait Talebb has indicated that the country will this month receive new doses of vaccines. 

With a limited quantity of doses, the first phase of Morocco’s vaccine roll out is targeted at frontline workers (teachers, health workers, security services, among others) aged 40 and above. 

According to the government, however, the country will adjust its vaccination campaign as more doses become available. The goal of the campaign, the government has insisted, is to inoculate as many as 80% of the Moroccan population to achieve herd immunity.

The post COVAX: WHO to Send Doses of AstraZeneca Vaccines to Morocco appeared first on Morocco World News.

EU approves coronavirus vaccine exports to Japan for first time | The Japan Times

On Feb. 1, during a teleconference call with officials of the European Commission, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi sought the EU’s cooperation over the supply of vaccines. The EU promised to do its best to ensure exports.

Pfizer has concluded a contract with Japan to supply vaccine doses for around 72 million people in the country by the end of the year. Amid the brewing global vaccine battle, however, countries are facing the challenge of securing a stable supply of vaccines.

Japan has agreed to secure more than 140 million doses from Pfizer, 120 million from AstraZeneca PLC of Britain and 50 million from U.S. firm Moderna Inc., the health ministry has said.

Source: EU approves coronavirus vaccine exports to Japan for first time | The Japan Times

China does not like the coup in Myanmar

Explicit language in support of Aung San Suu Kyi and her government and the disapproval for the coup indicates that China has come around to offer its tacit agreement that the coup is not the right thing.

While China may not like the events unfolding in Myanmar, it is unlikely to openly condemn the military’s actions. There is simply no precedent as non-interference in other countries’ domestic politics is a core value. However, the recent UNSC statement indicates that Beijing has made a step forward in line with global support for democratic governance in Myanmar.

Source: China does not like the coup in Myanmar

Amy Klobuchar’s Big Antitrust Bill Wants To End the Age of Megamergers

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: On Thursday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the incoming Democrat head of the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, introduced an omnibus bill signaling a pitched battle over the future of antitrust law. The law takes aim not just at big tech companies, but potentially all large companies. According to experts Motherboard spoke with, some parts of the bill offer ambitious changes to antitrust law, but others adhere to a framework that has undermined enforcing antitrust law for too long already.

At its core, the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act essentially combines legislation Klobuchar has proposed over the past few years as well as some that Senate Democrats have been considering. It takes a harder stance on anticompetitive mergers and acquisitions, and also promises to empower the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department’s antitrust division to aggressively enforce antitrust law. Some of the bill’s key proposals concern amendments and provisions to the Clayton Act of 1914, an antitrust law that made certain anticompetitive practices such as price discrimination outright illegal. In her omnibus bill, one key proposal seeks to strengthen anticompetitive merger enforcement by amending the Clayton Act to outright ban mergers that “create an appreciable risk of materially lessening competition,” as well as mergers that create monopsonies (buyers or employers who can suppress prices or wages via anti-competitive practices targeting other buyers or employers).

Klobuchar’s merger prohibitions also shift the burden of proof to the merging companies, which would have to prove a deal would not be anticompetitive, or create a monopoly or monopsony. In part, this means deals where a merger (or acquisition) yielded over 50 percent market share, where a transaction is valued over $5 billion, or where an acquisition worth over $50 million by a company valued over $100 billion would be presumed illegal. This move won her some praise from experts who praised its clear presumptive bar on large mergers. Other key proposals, however, that have raised concerns among antitrust advocates who are seeking larger structural changes.

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Read more of this story at Slashdot.

6th Day of February – Fatcowco – 1988 – Michael Jordan makes his signature slam dunk from the free throw line inspiring the Air Jordan logo.

1988 – Michael Jordan makes his signature slam dunk from the free throw line inspiring the Air Jordan logo.

On February, 1988 in a NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Michael Jordan dunked from the free-throw line, in the same manner as Julius Erving, but parted his legs making his dunk more memorable than Erving’s.

Air Jordan (sometimes abbreviated AJ) is an American brand of basketball shoes, athletic, casual, and style clothing produced by Nike.

1988 – Michael Jordan makes his signature slam dunk from the free throw line inspiring the Air Jordan logo.

The original Air Jordan sneakers were produced exclusively for Michael Jordan in late 1984, and released to the public on April 1, 1985.

Source: 6th Day of February – Fatcowco