President Joe Biden has selected federal appellate judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, the White House said on Friday, setting the stage for a confirmation battle in the closely divided Senate.

Biden picked Jackson, 51, for a lifetime job on the nation’s top judicial body to succeed retiring liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, who at 83 is the court’s oldest member. Of the 115 people who have ever served on the Supreme Court, only two have been Black and both of those were men.

The timing of Biden’s announcement had been in flux because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“President Biden sought a candidate with exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character and unwavering dedication to the rule of law,” the White House said in a statement.

“He also sought a nominee – much like Justice Breyer – who is wise, pragmatic and has a deep understanding of the Constitution as an enduring charter of liberty,” the White House said of Biden’s selection process. “And the president sought an individual who is committed to equal justice under the law and who understands the profound impact that the Supreme Court’s decisions have on the lives of the American people.”

Jackson, if confirmed by the Senate, would become the sixth woman ever to serve on the court, which currently has three female justices. She would join the liberal bloc on an increasingly assertive court that has a 6-3 conservative majority including three justices appointed by Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump.

Other contenders for the nomination were J. Michelle Childs, a district court judge in South Carolina and Leondra Kruger, a justice on the California Supreme Court.

The Senate voted 53-44 last year to confirm Jackson after Biden nominated her to the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, with three Republican senators backing her. At Jackson’s confirmation hearing last year, Republicans questioned her on whether race plays a role in her approach to deciding cases. She said it did not. The Senate previously confirmed her as a federal district judge, a job she held for eight years.

Jackson, who was raised in Miami and attended Harvard Law School, has a varied legal resume including earlier in her career representing criminal defendants who could not afford a lawyer. She was part of a three-judge panel that ruled in December against Republican former President Donald Trump’s bid to prevent White House records from being handed over to a congressional panel investigating last year’s Capitol attack.

Democrats are eager to move forward with the confirmation process while they control the Senate. Breyer, who has served since 1994, announced in January his intention to step down when the court completes its current term, likely by the end of June.

While Biden’s appointee will not change the court’s ideological balance – Jackson would be replacing a fellow liberal – her addition does enable Biden to refresh its liberal wing with a much younger jurist who could serve for decades, just as Trump’s three relatively young appointees are in a position to do.

The nomination also gives Biden a chance to shore up political support among women, minorities and liberals ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections in which Democrats are fighting to retain control of both chambers of Congress. Biden’s strength among suburban women, seen as a key reason for his victory over Trump, has eroded since taking office last year, worrying his political aides.

Confirmation process

The Senate confirmation process includes hearings before the Judiciary Committee, whose chairman is Democrat Dick Durbin and whose top Republican is Chuck Grassley. Democrats control the evenly split 100-member Senate because of the ability of Vice President Kamala Harris to break a tie. Biden made history in 2020 when he made Harris the first Black vice presidential candidate on a major party ticket.

Biden, a former Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, studied the case records of the candidates he was considering and consulted legal experts, the White House said.

Illustrating the precarious nature of the Democrats’ control of the Senate, they currently lack a working majority after Democratic Senator Ben Ray Lujan had a stroke. He is expected to recover in time to vote on the nomination.

Because of a rules change spearheaded by Republicans to ease the confirmation of Trump’s first nominee Neil Gorsuch in 2017 amid Democratic opposition, only a simple Senate majority vote is needed to confirm Biden’s pick.

Democrats have said they plan to move Biden’s nomination on a quick timetable, similar to the single month that Republicans used for Trump’s third appointee Justice Amy Coney Barrett in 2020.

The White House has signaled it will fight back vigorously against Republican attempts to discredit the nominee. Some Republicans have accused Biden of discrimination for pledging to name a Black woman to the post without considering any men or non-Black women. Biden said in January a Black woman serving on the Supreme Court was long overdue.

The Supreme Court continues to play an integral role in American life and has moved rightward thanks to Trump’s three appointees. It is due to rule in the coming months in cases that could curb abortion rights and expand gun rights. In its term beginning next October the court is due to hear cases concerning race issues that could end affirmative action policies used by colleges and universities to increase the number of Black and Hispanic students.

Source: REUTERS

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continued for the second day, with explosions reported in Kiev as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rued being “left alone” by the West and announced readiness to declare neutrality.

Russia’s forces pressed deep into Ukraine as deadly battles reached the outskirts of Kiev. 

They captured Zmiinyi Island in the Black Sea, where 82 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered to them, Russia’s defense ministry said. Ukrainian authorities said intense fighting was underway in the city of Sumy in the country’s northeast.

The Interfax-Ukraine news agency said two explosions were heard in Kiev. Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior ministry, said they emanated from the sounds of air defenses firing at an aircraft that was downed.

Kiev municipal authorities said at least eight people were injured when the aircraft crashed into an apartment block and set it on fire. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kiev had come under “horrific Russian rocket strikes.”

Ukraine’s nuclear agency said it was recording increased radiation levels from the site of the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Experts at the agency did not provide exact radiation levels but said the change was due to the movement of heavy military equipment in the area lifting radioactive dust into the air.

A spokesman for Russia’s defense ministry said Moscow will deploy paratroopers to help guard the nuclear power plant near Ukraine’s capital.

Radiation levels at the plant are normal, the spokesman told a briefing. Russian troops have destroyed 118 Ukrainian military infrastructure sites, he said.

Meanwhile, the governor of Russia’s southern Belgorod province said that seven residential buildings in the region had been damaged by shelling from Ukraine.

Kremlin: Russia willing to negotiate Ukraine’s surrender

In a statement, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia would come to the negotiating table on the condition that Ukraine promised to be neutral, not aspire to be a NATO member and also not keep any Western weaponry on its territory.

Peskov underlined that discussions over the terms of surrender would generally involve “demilitarization and denazification” of Ukraine.

President Zelensky said he is not afraid of talking about neutrality as his request for NATO accession went unanswered by European leaders.

Russia: First day of military operation ‘successful’

Late on Thursday, Russia’s military said it had “successfully” achieved its goals outlined for the first day of conflict with Ukrainian troops over the Donbas region.

“All of the tasks assigned to the groups of troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for the day were successfully completed,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

Konashenkov added that the Russian military had eliminated Ukraine’s air defenses and was in control of the skies over the former Soviet republic.

Ukraine ‘left alone’ 

Zelensky said his country had been left on its own to fight Russia after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” aimed at “demilitarization” of the Donetsk and Lugansk Republics in eastern Ukraine.

“We have been left alone to defend our state,” Zelensky said in a post-midnight video address to the nation. “Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don’t see anyone. Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid.”

Zelensky said that 137 Ukrainians, both military personnel and civilians, had been killed since the beginning of the attack, and 316 more had been wounded.

He said Russian “sabotage groups” had entered Kiev, and urged locals to remain vigilant and observe a curfew.

The Ukrainian president said he and his family remained in the country, despite Russia identifying him as “target number one.”

The UN refugee agency said around 100,000 people had been internally displaced while several thousand more had left Ukraine since the fighting erupted.

Kiev has declared martial law. It claims to have killed 50 Russian troops and shot down six Russian aircraft, an allegation that has not been independently verified.

EU slaps ‘harshest’ sanctions on Russia

Early Friday, the European Union announced what it called “the harshest package of sanctions” on Moscow, targeting 70 percent of the Russian banking sector and key state-owned companies.

European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, made the announcement in a press conference after an emergency meeting with leaders of the 27-member bloc.

She said the new round of sanctions “will impose massive and severe consequences on Russia for its action, in close coordination with our partners and allies.”

Von der Leyen said Russian assets in the EU would be frozen and Russian banks’ access to Europe’s financial markets would also be blocked.

The package of massive and targeted sanctions approved tonight shows how united the EU is.

The EU, however, faced strong criticism from Kiev as European leaders decided against blocking Russia from an international payments system through which it receives foreign currency.

With casualties mounting, the Ukrainian foreign minister warned that the European and US politicians would have “blood on their hands” if they failed to impose the heaviest toll on Moscow by cutting Russia from the so-called Swift payments system.

“I will not be diplomatic on this,” Dmytro Kuleba tweeted. “Everyone who now doubts whether Russia should be banned from Swift has to understand that the blood of innocent Ukrainian men, women, and children will be on their hands too. BAN RUSSIA FROM SWIFT.”

I will not be diplomatic on this. Everyone who now doubts whether Russia should be banned from SWIFT has to understand that the blood of innocent Ukrainian men, women and children will be on their hands too. BAN RUSSIA FROM SWIFT.

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) February 24, 2022

The United States announced a wave of new sanctions on Moscow on Thursday, targeting five major Russian banks.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced sanctions against some 60 individuals and entities. Australia and the UK have taken similar measures.

Macron: Useful to ‘leave the path open’ for dialogue 

French President Emmanuel Macron, however, said Friday that “while condemning, while sanctioning” it remained useful “to leave this path open so that the day when the conditions can be fulfilled, we can obtain a cessation of hostilities.”

Macron was the only Western leader on Thursday to speak to Putin. The Kremlin said Putin held a “frank” conversation with the French leader.

“After having spoken with the Ukrainian president, and in coordination with him, the president (Macron) called Vladimir Putin to demand the immediate halt of Russian military operations, noting that Russia risked massive sanctions,” the Elysee said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, however, said the Russian leader needs to understand that NATO is a nuclear alliance even as he ruled out the alliance’s intervention to defend Ukraine.

Asked whether Putin’s threat of “such consequences that you have never encountered in your history” was tantamount to threatening Russian use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict, Le Drian said it was indeed understood as such.

“Yes, I think that Vladimir Putin must also understand that the Atlantic alliance is a nuclear alliance. That is all I will say about this,” he said on French television TF1.

Le Drian also said Ukraine had made a list for weapons they needed and “we are studying that list in order to meet their requests as soon as possible”, but emphasized that Europe and NATO were not looking for a military intervention.

“Strangling Russia economically and financially will in the long run be stronger than any intervention,” he said.

On Friday, Macron said France was speeding up its deployment of troops to bolster NATO’s eastern flank in Romania.

Talking after an emergency summit with European Union leaders, Macron said he was “accelerating” the dispatch of forces.

Meanwhile, the United States said Thursday it was sending another 7,000 troops to Germany.

NATO is looking to establish battle groups in the southeast of the alliance, including in Romania. France has offered to lead the new deployment in that country.

Pelosi: US to provide $600mn for new Ukraine weapons

US House speaker Nancy Pelosi said lawmakers want to provide Ukraine with $600 million for “lethal defense weapons”.

“What we’re doing with Ukraine is making sure that we have humanitarian assistance to help the people; that we have lethal defense weapons going into Ukraine to the tune of $600 million for them to fight their own fight,” she told reporters in San Francisco.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba earlier said he had spoken to the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who told him about “plans to deliver new defensive weapons to help Ukraine defend itself.”

Culled from Press TV

Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv early Friday as Russian forces pressed on with a full-scale invasion that resulted in the deaths of at least 137 Ukrainians in the first day of fighting. The attack on Kyiv as the war entered its second day is part of what Western officials suspect is a brazen attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismantle the Ukrainian government and replace it with his own regime. Follow our liveblog for updates on the latest developments.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned Russia for “horrific rocket strikes” that shook the capital Kyiv in the early hours of Friday morning.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Friday that Russian “sabotage groups” have entered Kyiv and urged citizens to remain vigilant.

Zelensky declared a general mobilisation early Friday morning local time, calling up conscripts and reservists nationwide to fight invading Russian forces.

Zelensky said 137 Ukrainians, both military and civilian, were killed and 316 wounded in the first day of fighting.

Russian troops fought with Ukrainian forces Thursday for control of military installations across the country. The Russian army claimed to have destroyed 74 military facilities, including 11 airfields in Ukraine, while a Ukrainian official said Russian forces had captured the Chernobyl former nuclear power plant, just 90 km north of Kyiv.

Zelensky has promised to resist the invasion, saying a “new iron curtain” now separates Russia from the rest of the world.

Source: France 24

Russian troops launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, as President Vladimir Putin cast aside international condemnation and sanctions and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to “consequences you have never seen”. World leaders decried the start of a long-anticipated invasion with far-reaching consequences and reports of casualties on both sides. Follow our live blog for all the latest developments.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine, in a surprise televised address shortly before 6am local time. He warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with Russia’s invasion would lead to “consequences they have never seen”.

Explosions were heard in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa and other Ukrainian cities. Interfax Ukraine reported rocket attacks on military facilities throughout the country, as well as staff and passengers evacuating Kyiv’s Boryspil airport.

US President Joe Biden, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, French President Emmanuel Macron and other international leaders swiftly condemned the attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released an emotional video address early Thursday morning local time, appealing to Russians not to support a “major war in Europe”.

The EU on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu and military chiefs as part of a package of measures over the Kremlin’s recognition of two separatist Ukrainian regions as independent.

Source: France 24

President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into two Moscow-backed rebel regions of Ukraine on Monday, defying Western threats of sanctions in a move that could set off a potentially catastrophic war with Kyiv. 

Earlier, the Kremlin leader had recognised the independence of two rebel-held areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine, paving the way for an operation to deploy part of the potential invasion force he has massed around the country.

In two official decrees, Putin instructed the defence ministry to assume “the function of peacekeeping” in the separatist-held regions.

The recognition of the breakaway republics, which form an enclave held by Russia-backed rebels since 2014, triggered international condemnation and a promise of targeted sanctions from the United States and the European Union – with a broader package of economic punishment to come in the event of invasion.

As news of the late-night recognition hit the streets of Kyiv, many were in disbelief, but ready to defend their country if called on.

‘Scariest news’ in 8 years

“I am very shocked,” Artem Ivaschenko, a 22-year-old cook originally from Donetsk, told AFP in the capital, calling the recognition the “scariest news” since he had fled the region eight years ago.

“I live here, I already lost a part of my homeland, it was taken away, so I will protect it.”

After a flurry of calls, US President Joe Biden, France’s Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned that Moscow’s gambit “would not go unanswered”.

The US announced its first sanctions, with the White House saying Biden will issue an executive order to “prohibit new investment, trade, and financing by US persons to, from, or in” the two rebel regions.

A French presidential official said the European Union was preparing a list of Russian entities and individuals to sanction in a “proportionate” response to the recognition.

In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky convened a meeting of his national security council and was due to make a speech later in the night.   

Earlier, in an often angry 65-minute televised national address from his Kremlin office, Putin railed against ex-Soviet neighbour Ukraine as a failed state and “puppet” of the West, repeatedly suggesting it was essentially part of Russia.

He accused the authorities in Kyiv of persecuting Russian speakers and of preparing a “blitzkrieg” against the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in Ukraine’s east.

“As for those who seized and hold power in Kyiv, we demand an immediate end to their military operations,” Putin said.

“Otherwise, all responsibility for the possible continuation of bloodshed will be fully on the conscience of the regime in power in Ukraine.”

Putin said it was necessary to “take a long overdue decision, to immediately recognise the independence” of the two regions.

He then signed partnership agreements with the rebels that declared the presence of Russian military forces “necessary to maintain peace… and ensure reliable security.”

EU ‘will react with sanctions’

The recognition effectively puts an end to an already shaky peace plan in the separatist conflict, which has rumbled on since 2014, after Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine, and has left more than 14,000 dead.

Russia will now deploy troops with the support of separatist officials and Ukraine will either have to accept the loss of a huge chunk of territory or face an armed conflict against its vastly more powerful neighbour.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the move “a flagrant violation of the sovereignty and integrity of the Ukraine”, with the UK cabinet’s emergency COBR committee due to meet Tuesday and foreign minister Liz Truss promising “new sanctions on Russia.”

EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel promised the bloc “will react with sanctions against those involved in this illegal act”.

The United States and allies including France requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council later Monday.

Putin told his Security Council earlier Monday that there were “no prospects” for the 2015 Minsk peace accords aimed at resolving the Ukraine conflict.

‘Very big threat’ to Russia

And he made clear the stakes were bigger than Ukraine, whose efforts to join NATO and the European Union have deeply angered Moscow.

“The use of Ukraine as an instrument of confrontation with our country poses a serious, very big threat to us,” Putin said.

The dramatic meeting – with Putin sitting alone at a desk as his government, military and security chiefs took turns addressing him from a podium – came after weeks of tensions between Moscow and the West over Ukraine.

Western leaders warned that Russia was planning to invade its pro-Western neighbour after massing more than 150,000 troops on its borders, a claim Moscow repeatedly denied.

Tensions then spiked in recent days after an outbreak of heavy shellfire on Ukraine’s eastern frontline with the separatists and a series of reported incidents on the border with Russia.

Monitors from the OSCE European security body on Monday reported more than 3,000 new ceasefire violations in east Ukraine the day before, a high for the year.

Ukrainian officials said two soldiers and a civilian died in more shelling of frontline villages Monday.

Source: AFP

A judge ruled Thursday that former US president Donald Trump must testify under oath in New York’s civil probe into alleged fraudulent practices at his family business.

The ruling is the latest legal blow to Trump as he fights numerous cases that threaten to complicate any bid for another run at the White House in 2024.

State Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and his two eldest children, Donald Jr and Ivanka, to comply with subpoenas issued by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

He said the three must sit for depositions within 21 days. The Trumps are expected to appeal.

Earlier during oral arguments, the Trumps’ lawyers said that the subpoenas should be quashed because having them give evidence in the civil case would prejudice their rights in a parallel criminal investigation.

Engoron said their argument “completely misses the mark,” noting that neither the Manhattan District Attorney, which is running the criminal investigation, nor James’s office have ordered the Trumps to appear before a grand jury.

In his ruling, Engoron added that the Trumps could invoke their Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate themselves during questioning in the civil case.

He noted that Trump’s other son, Eric, had pleaded the fifth “more than 500 times” during a deposition for James’s investigation in October 2020.

James, a Democrat, announced in January that her investigation into the Trump Organization had uncovered “significant evidence” of fraudulent or misleading practices.

She said that the civil inquiry had found that the Trump Organization fraudulently overvalued multiple assets to secure loans and then undervalued them to minimize taxes.

The Trumps have claimed the investigation is politically motivated and has urged the court to quash subpoenas against the three.

If James finds evidence of financial misconduct she can sue the Trump Organization for damages but cannot file criminal charges.

The probe, however, is running alongside a very similar criminal investigation by the Manhattan district attorney for possible financial crimes and insurance fraud.

In July last year, the Trump Organization and its long-serving finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded not guilty in a New York court to 15 felony fraud and tax evasion charges.

His trial is due to begin in the middle of this year.

Trump, 75, has so far kept the electorate and commentators guessing about whether he intends to seek the Republican nomination again.

Source: AFP

Donald Trump’s longtime accountants have ditched the former US president as a client, saying a decade’s worth of financial statements could not be relied upon, court documents showed Monday.

Mazars informed the Trump Organization in a letter last Wednesday that it would no longer work for the company, which is being probed by New York prosecutors for alleged fraud.

The letter was revealed in court by New York state attorney general Letitia James as she asked a judge to force Trump to comply with subpoenas seeking testimony in her investigation.

James announced last month that her civil inquiry into Trump’s family firm had uncovered “significant evidence” of misleading business practices, including the fraudulent valuation of assets.

Mazars wrote that James’s findings had contributed towards it deciding that accounts for Trump for the years ending June 30, 2011 to June 30, 2020 “should no longer be relied upon.”

The accounting firm added that an investigation of its own and “information received from internal and external sources” had also played a part in it reaching that conclusion.

“While we have not concluded that the various financial statements, as a whole, contain material discrepancies, based upon the totality of the circumstances, we believe our advice to you to no longer rely upon those financial statements is appropriate,” it said.

The letter added that in part because of the decision regarding the statements, Mazars “are not able to provide any new work product to the Trump Organization.”

The financial records are at the heart of James’s investigation and a criminal probe by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

The twin inquiries are investigating whether the Trump Organization defrauded lenders into providing favourable loans.

James, a Democrat, said in January that her ongoing inquiry had found that the Trump Organization fraudulently overvalued multiple assets to secure loans and then undervalued them to minimise taxes.

She said the company had “misrepresented” the valuation of assets to financial institutions including the Internal Revenue Service, banks and insurers for “economic benefit.”

Parallel investigations

If James finds evidence of financial misconduct she can sue the Trump Organization for damages but cannot file criminal charges.

The probe, however, is running alongside a similar criminal investigation by the Manhattan DA for possible financial crimes and insurance fraud.

Last July the Trump Organization and its long-serving finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded not guilty to 15 felony fraud and tax evasion charges.

The DA’s office in January 2021 finally received roughly eight years of Trump tax returns from Mazars following a marathon legal battle that went to the Supreme Court.

Trump has slammed both probes as politically motivated.

A spokesperson for the Trump Organization said in a statement Monday evening that they were “disappointed” by Mazars’ decision to cut ties.

The firm’s “letter confirms that after conducting a subsequent review of all prior statements of financial condition, Mazars’ work was performed in accordance with all applicable accounting standards and principles and that such statements of financial condition do not contain any material discrepancies,” the spokesperson said, calling both investigations in New York therefore “moot.”

In her filing Monday, James repeated her request that the former president, Donald Trump Jr, and Ivanka Trump give evidence under oath. Her office has already questioned Eric Trump.

The legal woes could make a second White House run more difficult for the 75-year-old Trump, who has kept Americans guessing about his plans.

Source: AFP

North America’s busiest trade link reopened for traffic late Sunday evening, ending a six-day blockade, Canada Border Services Agency said, after Canadian police cleared the protesters fighting to end COVID-19 restrictions.

Canadian police made several arrests on Sunday and cleared protesters and vehicles that occupied the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, after a court order on Friday.

The blockade had choked the supply chain for Detroit’s carmakers, forcing Ford Motor Co, the second-largest U.S. automaker, General Motors Co and Toyota Motor Corp to cut production.

The bridge carries about $360 million a day in two-way cargoes – 25% of the value of all U.S.-Canada goods trade. A Windsor Police official told reporters that 20 to 30 arrests had been made. Police also seized vehicles within the demonstration area, according to an earlier statement.

Police stepped up their presence on Sunday with more than 50 vehicles, including cruisers, buses and an armoured car, as the number of protesters dropped to around 45 from roughly 100 on Saturday. Windsor Police tweeted “there will be zero tolerance for illegal activity”.

In Ottawa, counter protests started blocking vehicles trying to join the protests on Sunday, with residents losing patience over the three-week-old demonstrations.

In the western Canadian province of British Columbia, the Pacific highway border crossing in Surrey was temporarily closed on Sunday afternoon, for a second day, by a group of about 200 protesters, according to a Reuters photographer on the scene. A small group of protesters gathered on the U.S. side of the border, blocking incoming vehicles.

The “Freedom Convoy” protests, started in the national capital Ottawa by Canadian truckers opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border drivers, entered its 17th day on Sunday. But it has now morphed into a rallying point against broader COVID-19 curbs, carbon tax and other issues, with people joining in cars, pick-up trucks and farm vehicles.

“We’re fed up, we’re tired. We want Ottawa to be boring again,” said an Ottawa resident at a counter protest in front of the city’s police headquarters.

The Canadian government had discussed whether to invoke special emergency powers to deal with the protests in the capital, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair told CBC News on Sunday. Blair said the lack of police enforcement in Ottawa was “inexplicable.”

The rarely used Emergencies Act would allow the federal government to override the provinces and authorize special temporary measures to ensure security during national emergencies anywhere in the country. It has only been used once in peacetime – by Trudeau’s father, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau – in 1970.

Strangling bilateral trade, protests have spread to three border points, including in Alberta and Manitoba. Canadian police have said the protests have been partly funded by U.S. supporters, and Ontario froze funds donated via one U.S. platform GiveSendGo on Thursday.

The estimated loss so far from the blockades to the auto industry alone could be as high as $850 million, based on IHS Markit’s data, which puts the 2021 daily flow in vehicles and parts at $141.1 million a day.

“Today, our national economic crisis at the Ambassador Bridge came to an end,” Windsor City Mayor Drew Dilkens said in a tweet.

In Europe, a convoy of 150 cars protesting COVID-19 restrictions left Paris on Sunday morning and headed towards Brussels, protesters told Reuters.

Source: REUTERS

The US general in charge of American forces in the West Asia region has arrived in the United Arab Emirates after a string of Yemeni counterstrikes that caught Abu Dhabi off-guard.

Marine General Frank McKenzie, the head of the United States Central Command, traveled to the Emirates on Sunday ahead of the schedule, after Yemen’s defense forces carried out at least three rounds of retaliatory attacks against the UAE’s sensitive spots in the space of a single month.

“I think it’s a very worrisome time for UAE. They’re looking for support. We’re here to help them to provide that support,” McKenzie said shortly before landing in Abu Dhabi, Reuters reported.

Queen Elizabeth II made a rare public appearance on Saturday, chatting and cutting cake at a party, a day before she enters her 70th year as monarch.

The 95-year-old Queen has rarely appeared in public and has cancelled major engagements since spending a night in hospital for tests last October.

Wearing a blue dress and pearls, the Queen talked to people from local community and volunteer groups at a morning reception at her Sandringham residence in Norfolk in eastern England.

She is about to mark a major milestone in her reign, as Sunday will be the 70th anniversary of the day her father, King George VI, died, and she became queen aged 25.

The nation will take part in Platinum Jubilee celebrations this summer including a four-day weekend.

On Saturday, the Queen cut a cake with the Jubilee emblem iced on top and received a posy of flowers at the reception in Sandringham’s Ballroom, which included a band playing the song “Congratulations”.

The guests included Angela Wood, a woman who helped create the recipe for coronation chicken, first served at a banquet in 1953.

Wood told the BBC in January that she helped fine-tune the recipe for the bright yellow dish of chicken, boned and coated in a curry cream sauce, while a 19-year-old student at a Cordon Bleu cookery school.

The Queen was also photographed out walking out at Sandringham. She has used a stick in public appearances since October, but royal officials said it was not linked to any specific health condition.

The Queen traditionally spends her Accession Day at Sandringham, where her father died of cancer while she was on a visit to Kenya.

She is set to become the first UK monarch to reign for 70 years.

Source: AFP