A top Iranian security official said on Monday that the success of the Vienna talks on the restoration of a 2015 nuclear deal depends on the U.S. political determination.
Nuclear negotiations in Vienna have reached a stage where “the outcome can be announced without guesswork,” Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani tweeted.
The U.S. political decision on whether to accept the requirements conducive to the conclusion of “a credible and lasting deal” based on the principles in the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), he noted.
Iran signed the JCPOA with world powers in July 2015. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran, which prompted the latter to drop some of its nuclear commitments one year later and advance its halted nuclear programs.
Iran
Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks have been held in the Austrian capital between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties, namely Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, to revive the landmark deal.
The United States, which has been indirectly involved in the Vienna negotiations, has said it has until the end of February to resuscitate the 2015 nuclear pact, or the United States will launch “aggressive efforts” against Iran.
“We are in the process of temporarily relocating our Embassy operations in Ukraine from our Embassy in Kyiv (Kiev) to Lviv due to the dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Monday that the United States will temporarily relocate its embassy in Ukraine from the capital city of Kiev to the western city of Lviv, citing escalating tensions on Ukraine’s borders.
“We are in the process of temporarily relocating our Embassy operations in Ukraine from our Embassy in Kyiv to Lviv due to the dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces,” Blinken said, using the Romanized spelling of the name of the capital city from the Ukrainian language.
“The Embassy will remain engaged with the Ukrainian government, coordinating diplomatic engagement in Ukraine,” the secretary said, adding that his country also remains “engaged with the Russian government” and that the “path for diplomacy remains available.”
The State Department on Saturday ordered the departure of most U.S. direct hire employees from the embassy in Kiev, a decision it claimed was made “due to the continued threat of Russian military action” against neighboring Ukraine.
Passport, visa and other routine consular services have been suspended since Sunday, according to the department, and the mission of the now-reduced U.S. diplomatic team is to “handle emergencies” in Lviv.
U.S. and Russian top diplomats and defense officials held separate telephone conversations Saturday to discuss the Ukraine crisis, followed later in the same day by a high-stakes phone call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In addition to evacuating its diplomatic staff, the United States has also been urging its nationals currently in Ukraine to depart immediately, warning that those who choose to stay cannot count on the U.S. military to come to their rescue in the event that war breaks out in Ukraine.
Washington has been releasing intelligence purporting an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine but refused to back it up with details. Moscow, for its part, has repeatedly denied any intention to invade, accusing the Biden administration of “hysteria.”
Masking is a tool in the tool kit, but there is no substitute for vaccination and boosting, says a physician.
Falling COVID-19 case rates are prompting more U.S. states to ease masking requirements, meaning that when or whether to wear a mask is becoming more of an individual decision by a person or an entity, thus exacerbating divisions typical of the country.
A slew of Democratic governors in states that have been among the most mask-friendly is moving to scrap indoor mask mandates, even as some counties and school districts in those states promise to maintain those measures. “With both factions contending they are following the science,” reported The Washington Post.
An informal network of parents is pushing for “evidence-based decisions” to rescind in-school mask mandates. At the same time, teachers unions and other advocates for continued masking of students quote from their roster of medical experts, urging elected officials to “follow the science” and maintain mandates, according to the report.
Traders wearing face masks work at the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, the United States, on Jan. 18, 2022. (Xinhua/Michael Nagle)
MAJOR BANK GIVE-UPS
The New York Stock Exchange withdrew its mask mandate for fully vaccinated people effective on Friday, making masks optional on the trading floor and other public areas for fully vaccinated personnel and visitors after several large U.S. investment banks dropped their mask requirements at their U.S. offices.
Goldman Sachs will no longer require masks to be worn by employees at its U.S. offices from Monday and will leave it to individuals to decide if they want to mask up, said a spokeswoman at the bank. For fully vaccinated employees of JPMorgan working out of their U.S. offices, masks have been made entirely voluntary. Staff at Morgan Stanley’s offices will not be required to wear masks, as only vaccinated employees are allowed into their buildings.
“The move is part of a larger trend across the U.S. as the number of COVID cases continues to fall. A host of blue states have lifted mask requirements this past week,” reported U.S. news portal Axios, noting that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend mask-wearing in indoor spaces that are at high risk of transmission.
Cincinnati Bengals
SUPER BOWL REQUIREMENT
0n Sunday evening, the Super Bowl was held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the second time it took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Football League (NFL), a professional American football league, has issued guidelines for people watching the biggest football match of the year from the stands, including a mask mandate that requires all spectators over age two to wear a mask while inside the stadium, regardless of vaccination status.
Although the NFL is asking everyone to wear a face mask in the stadium, they are allowing spectators to remove their masks while eating or drinking. In addition, while attendees do not need to be vaccinated to enter SoFi Stadium, those five years and older will need to show they are negative for COVID-19 with either a PCR test taken within 48 hours or an antigen test taken within 24 hours.
Inglewood Mayor James Butts admitted that enforcing the mask rule can be difficult, but trusted spectators to follow the guidelines out of respect for themselves and others.
“You can’t force everybody to wear a mask all the time,” he told ESPN, an American international basic cable sports channel. “In the end, it’s the responsibility of the people to take care of themselves, their families and their friends. And that’s the simplest way I can put it.”
U.S. President Joe Biden wearing a face mask leaves the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, Feb. 10, 2022. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)
FACTORS TO WEIGH
There are several factors to weigh when making decisions about masking. Among them are your health, the vulnerability of people in your household, local case rates and your vaccination status. Doctors told The Wall Street Journal that it can make sense to take precautions even as governments pull back.
“Governors removing mask mandates just means that the government is no longer requiring masks. It does not mean that there is now no risk to going around maskless,” said Leana Wen, an emergency physician and public-health professor at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Meanwhile, the best thing people can do to mitigate their own risk and the spread of COVID-19 is to get vaccinated and boosted, according to the physicians.
“Masking is a tool in the tool kit,” Lucy McBride, a Washington, D.C.-based primary-care physician, was quoted as saying, “but there is no substitute for vaccination and boosting.”
Concerns about an escalation of Russia-Ukraine tensions are driving oil prices up noticeably, an energy analyst said.
Oil prices advanced on Monday as investors monitor geopolitical tensions.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for March delivery added 2.36 U.S. dollars, or 2.5 percent, to settle at 95.46 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for April delivery increased 2.04 dollars, or 2.2 percent, to close at 96.48 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Concerns about an escalation of Russia-Ukraine tensions are driving oil prices up noticeably, Carsten Fritsch, energy analyst at Commerzbank Research, said Monday in a note.
Traders also digested a closely-watched report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
In its monthly report released on Friday, the IEA revised its forecast for global oil demand this year considerably upwards.
The Paris-based energy watchdog also warned that the gap between OPEC+ output and its target levels swelled in January.
“That shortfall is expected to deepen as some OPEC+ members struggle with production constraints, exacerbating market tightness,” said the IEA.
For the week ending Friday, the U.S. crude benchmark rose 0.9 percent, while Brent advanced 1.3 percent, based on the front-month contracts.
— UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply worried about the current tensions and increased speculation about a potential military conflict. — “There is no place for incendiary rhetoric. Public statements should aim to reduce tensions, not inflame them.” — “Abandoning diplomacy for confrontation is not a step over a line, it is a dive over a cliff.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for diplomacy to defuse the heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
In a press encounter, Guterres said he was deeply worried about the current tensions and increased speculation about a potential military conflict.
“The price in human suffering, destruction and damage to European and global security is too high to contemplate. We simply cannot accept even the possibility of such a disastrous confrontation,” he said.
“There is no alternative to diplomacy. All issues, including the most intractable, can and must be addressed and resolved through diplomatic frameworks. It is my firm belief that this principle will prevail,” said Guterres.
Earlier on Monday, the secretary-general held a virtual meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He also spoke separately with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
Guterres said he will remain fully engaged in the hours and days to come.
He said, as secretary-general, it is his duty to appeal for the full respect of the UN Charter, a fundamental pillar of international law.
He quoted part of Article 2 of the UN Charter: “All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered. All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”
The time is now to defuse tensions and de-escalate actions on the ground. There is no place for incendiary rhetoric. Public statements should aim to reduce tensions, not inflame them, he said.
Guterres welcomed the recent flurry of diplomatic contacts and engagements, including between heads of state, but said more needs to be done.
“I have made my good offices available and we will leave no stone unturned in the search for a peaceful solution. Abandoning diplomacy for confrontation is not a step over a line, it is a dive over a cliff,” he said. “In short, my appeal is this: do not fail the cause of peace.”
New York Times รายงานว่าคริสติน่า ยูนา ลี หญิงวัย 35 ปีเป็นชาวเชื้อสายเอเชียรายล่าสุดที่ตกเป็นเหยื่อความรุนแรงในนครนิวยอร์ก สหรัฐอเมริกา หลังจากที่มีชาวเอเชียถูกทำร้ายในนิวยอร์กมาแล้วหลายครั้ง
ทั้งนี้ ศูนย์ศึกษาความเกลียดชังและลัทธิหัวรุนแรง (The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism) พบว่าาอาชญากรรมจากความเกลียดชังคนเชื้อสายเอเชียทั่วสหรัฐในปี 2021 เพิ่มขึ้นถึง 339% เมื่อเทียบกับปีก่อนหน้า
"Ukrainian oligarchs and businessmen are leaving Ukraine on charter flights, with about 20 charters and private jets departing from Kyiv on Sunday alone… There have not been so many charters in 6 years of observations."https://t.co/oTI05ytQoV
Traders wearing face masks work at the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, the United States, on Jan. 18, 2022. (Xinhua/Michael Nagle)
U.S. President Joe Biden wearing a face mask leaves the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, Feb. 10, 2022. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)
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