Republican split widens as Donald Trump intervenes in party elections in Arizona

The acrimonious split within Republican ranks widened over the weekend as Donald Trump made his foray back into politics, backing the re-election of a hard-line supporter as chair of the party in Arizona. Underlining Mr Trump's grip on the Republican grassroots, the Arizona party also voted to censure John McCain's widow, Cindy, former senator Jeff Flake and governor Doug Ducey, who refused to back the former president's claims of election fraud. Mr Trump's intervention came amid reports that he is considering setting up a “Patriot Party” which would spearhead primary challenges to his opponents in the 2022 mid-term elections.

The Senate is effectively deadlocked over McConnell's filibuster demand

Senate Democrats are drawing a line at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) demand that a power-sharing agreement in the 50-50 Senate include a pledge to retain the legislative filibuster. "If we gave him that, then the filibuster would be on everything, every day," Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) told NBC's Chuck Todd on Sunday's Meet the Press.

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  Dick Durbin calls absolute protection of Senate filibuster 'a non-starter’

  Politico
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  Mitch McConnell 'plays the long game' to retain some power as it slips away

  The Guardian

China pushes conspiracy theories on COVID origin, vaccines

Chinese state media have stoked concerns about Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, despite rigorous trials indicating it is safe. A government spokesperson has raised the unsubstantiated theory that the coronavirus could have emerged from a U.S. military lab, giving it more credence in China. As the ruling Communist Party faces growing questioning about China's vaccines and renewed criticism of its early COVID-19 response, it is hitting back by encouraging conspiracy theories that some experts say could cause harm.

Refugee resettlement hits 20-year low amid pandemic, U.S. cuts: U.N.

Barely 1.6% of 1.44 million people with refugee status who were prioritised for resettlement in another country of asylum last year found new homelands through the U.N. refugee agency, the lowest number in nearly two decades, it said on Monday. The drop to 22,770 admissions was due to lower quotas set by recipient countries, limited flights and delays in processing during the coronavirus pandemic, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said. In 2019, it resettled 63,696 refugees in need of transfer from one asylum country to another.

Putin calls pro-Navalny protesters 'terrorists', rejects claims about Black Sea 'palace'

Russian President Vladimir Putin compared the organisers of mass anti-Kremlin protests at the weekend to “terrorists” as he dismissed an investigation by the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny into his personal wealth. The president, who never says Mr Navalny's name in public, took the surprising step of directly addressing allegations he owns a billion-dollar residence on the Black Sea, dubbed by the opposition leader as “Putin's Palace”. The comments came after demonstrations on Saturday that saw tens of thousands of people take to the streets over Mr Navalny's arrest on his return to Russia after months recovering from a poisoning, and wider anger over corruption.

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  Navalny's team calls new protests in Russia for his release

  Associated Press
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  Putin calls pro-Navalny marches illegal, new protest set for Sunday

  Reuters

Ted Cruz's 'Pittsburgh over Paris' campaign shows us just how dumb the Biden years are going to be

In response to Biden re-entering the US into the Paris climate agreement, GOP Sen. Ted Cruz has launched a "Pittsburgh over Paris" campaign. Cruz says that Biden rejoining the Paris agreement will cost the citizens of Pittsburgh jobs, but the idea makes no sense and is just another bad faith attempt at scoring political points. This is the norm for Republicans, and a sign of what's to come.

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  Economic impact of the U.S. rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement

  Yahoo Finance Video
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  Ted Cruz Is Fighting with Seth Rogen on Twitter. Here's Why That Is Both Hilarious and Worrisome.

  Esquire

California lifts virus stay-at-home orders, curfew statewide

California lifted regional stay-at-home orders across the state Monday in response to improving coronavirus conditions, returning the state to a system of county-by-county restrictions. The order had been in place in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California, covering the majority of the state's counties. The change allows restaurants and churches to resume outdoor operations and hair and nail salons to reopen in many areas, though local officials could choose to impose stricter rules.

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  California lifts stay-at-home orders on Monday

  Yahoo News Video
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  California to lift stay-at-home orders on Monday: report

  Reuters

China says U.S. military in South China Sea not good for peace

The United States often sends ships and aircraft into the South China Sea to "flex its muscles" and this is not good for peace, China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday, after a U.S. aircraft carrier group sailed into the disputed waterway. The strategic South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade flows each year, has long been a focus of contention between Beijing and Washington, with China particularly angered by U.S. military activity there. The U.S. carrier group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt and accompanied by three warships, entered the waterway on Saturday to promote "freedom of the seas", the U.S. military said, just days after Joe Biden became U.S. president..

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  U.S. military 'flexing' won't help: China

  Reuters Videos
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  U.S. carrier group enters South China Sea amid Taiwan tensions

  Reuters

Delta plans to return 400 pilots to active flying by summer

Delta Air Lines plans to return 400 pilots to regular flying duties by this summer in a sign that it expects travel to increase over the peak vacation season from current, low pandemic levels. The airline's senior vice president of flight operations, John Laughter, said in a memo that the airline is bringing back pilots to active flying “well ahead of when we originally estimated.” The 400 are not new hires; through March, they are being paid with taxpayer money that Delta received as part of $15 billion in additional federal aid to the airline industry.

EU states no longer recognise Guaido as Venezuela's interim president

Venezuela's Juan Guaido is a "privileged interlocutor" but no longer considered interim president, European Union states said in a statement on Monday, sticking by their decision to downgrade his status. The EU's 27 states had said on Jan. 6 they could no longer legally recognise Guaido as after he lost his position as head of parliament following legislative elections in Venezuela in December, despite the EU not recognising that vote. Following the disputed re-election of President Nicolas Maduro in 2018, Guaido, as head of parliament, became interim president.

Some senators oppose the direct-payment part of Biden's stimulus plan because they think it gives too much money to the wealthy, report says

President Joe Biden's stimulus plan is facing criticism that it'd give too much to the wealthy. A bipartisan group of 16 senators spoke with the Biden administration during a call Sunday. The group also expressed support for increasing funding for vaccine distribution.

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  Senate Republicans Won't Vote for Biden's Stimulus Plan. But a $1,400 Check Could Still be Possible

  Motley Fool
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  Bipartisan group of senators meet with White House on COVID plan

  CBS News

China tackles pandemic with mass construction once again

A sprawling quarantine center with more than 4,000 rooms is being thrown up in northern China in response to a COVID-19 outbreak in Shijiazhuang, a city of more than 10 million people in Hebei province. Satellite images from the European Space Agency show dramatic changes over 10 days in an area where there had been only flat land before construction started on Jan. 13. It's common practice for China to mobilize resources nationwide to tackle natural disasters and other crises.

Boycott 'wildcat' Scottish independence vote, says Scottish Conservative leader

Backers of the union of the United Kingdom's four nations should boycott any "wildcat" independence referendum for Scotland, the leader of the Scottish Conservative Party said on Monday, after the nation's first minister pressed ahead with plans for a vote. Scotland's first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said on Sunday she was hoping a strong performance by her Scottish National Party (SNP) in an election in May would give her the mandate to hold a second referendum. To get a legal referendum, any such vote must be approved by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has ruled out doing so.

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  Nicola Sturgeon should focus on COVID rather than Scottish independence, says Boris Johnson

  Yahoo News UK
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  Scottish leader says PM Johnson fears democracy over independence issue

  Reuters

Sikkim: Chinese and Indian troops 'in new border clash'

Chinese and Indian troops have reportedly clashed again in a disputed border area, with injuries on both sides, Indian media say. The incident took place in north Sikkim last Wednesday. India's army said there had been a "minor" incident that had been "resolved".

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  India says troops had 'minor face-off' with China in Sikkim border area

  Reuters
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  India, China soldiers brawl again along disputed frontier

  Associated Press

Amid stimulus talks, Biden signs order to help factories

Taking whatever steps he can to galvanize the economy, President Joe Biden plans to sign an executive order Monday to boost government buying from U.S. manufacturers as he begins the negotiation process with Congress over a $1.9 trillion stimulus package. The executive order is among a flurry of moves by Biden during his first full week to publicly show he's taking swift action to heal an ailing economy. Biden's aides have hammered the talking points that the country is in a precarious spot and relief is urgently needed.

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  What Biden's 'Buy American' executive order means for the U.S.

  Yahoo Finance Video
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  Biden's latest executive order will require the federal government to "buy American"

  Axios

Center-right incumbent wins Portugal's presidential election

Portugal's president was returned to office for a second term with a resounding victory Sunday in an election held amid a devastating COVID-19 surge that has made the European country the worst in the world for cases and deaths. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who had been widely expected to win, captured 61% of the vote. Rebelo de Sousa, a center-right moderate and former leader of Portugal's Social Democratic Party, will serve a 5-year term that will be his last due to term limits.

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  Portugal President Rebelo de Sousa wins new term in socially distanced ballot

  Reuters
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  Portugal president wins second term, but far-right gains as COVID cases spike

  Axios

Russian hack of US agencies exposed supply chain weaknesses

The elite Russian hackers who gained access to computer systems of federal agencies last year didn't need to painstakingly break one-by-one into the networks of each department in order to cause havoc. Instead, they got inside by sneaking malicious code into a software update pushed out to thousands of government agencies and private companies. U.S. officials and cybersecurity experts have sounded the alarm for years about a problem that has caused havoc, including billions of dollars in financial losses, while also defying easy solutions from the government and private sector.

Fauci on What Working for Trump Was Really Like

And the other thing that made me really concerned was, it was clear that he was getting input from people who were calling him up — I don't know who, people he knew from business — saying, “Hey, I heard about this drug; isn't it great? or, “Boy, this convalescent plasma is really phenomenal. And I would try to, you know, calmly explain that you find out if something works by doing an appropriate clinical trial; you get the information; you give it a peer review.

Group: Pakistani Baloch dissident buried amid high security

A Pakistani dissident and civil rights activist who died in exile in Canada last month was returned to Pakistan and laid to rest in her home village in southwestern Baluchistan province under tight security, activists said Monday. Only immediate family members of 37-year-old Karima Baloch were allowed to attend her funeral Sunday in the village of Tump in Baluchistan. Her supporters claim that Pakistani troops had sealed off the village and prevented them from attending her burial.

China is spreading conspiracy theories that the coronavirus was created in an American lab and that a US-created vaccine is killing the elderly

Chinese state media is spreading a conspiracy theory that a US Army base created the coronavirus. The disinformation push comes as WHO scientists arrive in Wuhan to study the virus' origins. Chinese state media is playing up a conspiracy theory about the novel coronavirus' origins while also questioning the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine's safety in older people.

Donald Trump’s niece wants to change her name to distance herself from former president

Mary Trump, Donald Trump's niece, has said she wants to change her last name in order to disassociate herself from her uncle as it comes with a “negative connotation” due to the “damage” done by him. The former president's relative, who publicly criticised Mr Trump and wrote a scathing memoir about him, said her uncle did “incalculable damage to the country. "I am prepared to change my name if need be," she said in an interview to The Telegraph, and added that she feared the negative connotations attached with the surname could impact her future.

Review: An American novel manages, for once, to get Israel right

I was nearly certain, before I started reading “City of a Thousand Gates,” the debut novel by Rebecca Sacks, that I was going to hate it. The way it was being pitched reminded me of the early breathlessness around “American Dirt,” a novel that was marketed as the definitive take on the Mexico-to-U.S. immigration experience. Promotional materials promising “Gates” would “spark admiration and controversy” immediately put me on edge; learning the author had spent only a couple years in Israel and the West Bank, the politically fraught setting of the book, made me even warier.