World News Flash
UNITED STATES: Disaster Hits Texas
On If you thought that the winter storms that recently came through New Jersey were the worst, think again.
The state of Texas has been inundated with horrendous winter weather that has included heavy snow, ice, and extremely cold temperatures. However, the aftermath was actually worse, with the weather causing power outages and disruptions in the water supply. The lack of power and potable water meant no heat for millions in the state. Meanwhile, those who did keep the lights and gas on were hit by atrocious bills from their providers.
As this went on, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz came under fire for taking his family to Cancun while his fellow Texans were struggling. After dropping off his family, Cruz returned to hand out bottled water. However, he came under fire again for not quarantining for 14 days after returning to the U.S. from another country.
On Feb. 19, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Texas and ordered federal assistance to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe winter storms beginning on Feb. 11, 2021, and continuing.
The President’s action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Angelina, Aransas, Bastrop, Bee, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Brazoria, Brazos, Brown, Burleson, Caldwell, Calhoun, Cameron, Chambers, Collin, Comal, Comanche, Cooke, Coryell, Dallas, Denton, DeWitt, Ellis, Falls, Fort Bend, Galveston, Gillespie, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Hays, Henderson, Hidalgo, Hood, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Kaufman, Kendall, Lavaca, Liberty, Madison, Matagorda, Maverick, McLennan, Montague, Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Nueces, Orange, Palo Pinto, Panola, Parker, Polk, Rockwall, Sabine, San Jacinto, San Patricio, Scurry, Shelby, Smith, Stephens, Tarrant, Travis, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Victoria, Walker, Waller, Wharton, Wichita, Williamson, Wilson, and Wise.
Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Federal funding is also available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency protective measures and hazard mitigation measures statewide.
Robert J. Fenton, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Jerry S. Thomas as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas.
Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.
Barring any disruptions, President Biden said that he would visit the state on Friday, Feb. 26.
EUROPE: Unlocking a Lockdown
On Feb. 22, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced the government’s roadmap to cautiously ease lockdown restrictions in England.
In a statement to parliament, he paid tribute to the extraordinary success of the UK’s vaccination program and the resolve of the British public in following the lockdown restrictions, which has helped to cut infection rates and reduce the spread of the virus.
He also set out the latest vaccine efficacy data, with Public Health England finding that one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine reduces hospitalizations and deaths by at least 75%. Analysis of the AstraZeneca vaccine efficacy continues, with promising early results.
Supported by the increased protection offered by these vaccines, the government is able to slowly and cautiously begin to ease restrictions in all areas across England at the same time, guided at all stages by data, not dates.
The roadmap, which has now been published on gov.uk, outlines four steps for easing restrictions. Before proceeding to the next step, the Government will examine the data to assess the impact of previous steps.
This assessment will be based on four tests:
· The vaccine deployment program continues successfully.
· Evidence shows vaccines are sufficiently effective in reducing hospitalizations and deaths in those vaccinated.
· Infection rates do not risk a surge in hospitalizations which would put unsustainable pressure on the NHS.
· An assessment of the risks is not fundamentally changed by new Variants of Concern.
There will be a minimum of five weeks between each step: four weeks for the data to reflect changes in restrictions; followed by seven days’ notice of the restrictions to be eased.
The Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Scientific Adviser have made clear that this will give adequate time to assess the impact of each step and reduce the risk of having to re-impose restrictions at a later date.
As the Prime Minister said, getting children back into school has been the top priority, and so from March 8 all children and students will return to face to face education in schools and college. By this point, everyone in the top four vaccine priority cohorts – as determined by the independent JCVI – will have received the first dose of their vaccine and developed the necessary protection from it.
MIDDLE EAST: Keeping An Eye on Iran
The UN-backed International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reached a temporary deal with Iran so that monitoring of the country’s nuclear program can continue, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi announced at a press conference in Vienna on Feb. 21.
The IAEA chief was speaking shortly after arriving from weekend talks in Tehran to mitigate plans to reduce cooperation this week.
Iran’s Parliament passed a law in December to partially suspend nuclear inspections if the United States did not lift sanctions imposed under the Trump administration. It goes into effect on Feb. 23.
“We agreed that in view of the law, and in particular the provision that establishes limitations, we have reached a temporary bilateral technical understanding whereby the agency is going to continue its necessary verification and monitoring activities for a period of up to three months,” Mr. Grossi told journalists.
The arrangement means IAEA inspectors will have less access than under the 2015 deal on Iran’s nuclear program, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The number of inspectors will not change.
“We agreed that we are going to keep this understanding we reached under review constantly so if…we want to suspend it or extend it, this can be done,” said Mr. Grossi. “The hope of the IAEA has been to be able to stabilize a situation which was very unstable.”
CARIBBEAN : An Unstable Haiti
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) is “very concerned” over recent attacks against judicial independence in Haiti, as the country is gripped by political and institutional instability, a spokesperson said on Feb. 19.
According to spokesperson Liz Throssell, a judge of the Haitian Cour de Cassation (Supreme Court), was arrested on Feb. 7, in circumstances that may amount to unlawful or arbitrary arrest and detention. Twenty-two other individuals were also arrested, 17 of whom still remain in pre-trial detention.
While the judge was subsequently released, the person along with two others were “forced to retire and later replaced, apparently through an irregular procedure.”
“These developments cause concerns about judicial independence and have further eroded the separation of powers in Haiti,” Ms. Throssell said at a regular media briefing at the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG).
Ms. Throssell stressed that respecting the rule of law and the system of checks and balances at all times is paramount.
“It is even more crucial now given the growing political tensions and the increasing expression of dissent in demonstrations,” she said.
OHCHR called on the Haitian authorities to ensure respect for the established legal and institutional framework, and to comply with their obligations under the country’s Constitution and international human rights treaties, she added.
