International

US says vaccinated people can go mask-free outdoors most of the time

AFP/Editor

Americans vaccinated against Covid-19 no longer need to mask up outdoors when there is no crowd, President Joe Biden said Tuesday, before celebrating by taking his first short walk at the White House without the face covering.

Biden told the nation in televised remarks from the leafy North Lawn that “stunning progress” has been made in getting vaccines administered and that stringent mask recommendations can now be relaxed.

“For those who haven’t gotten their vaccination yet, especially if you’re younger, or thinking you don’t need it, this is another great reason to go get vaccinated. Now. Now,” Biden said.

He was speaking shortly after the Centers for Disease Control, the top government health agency, notified fully vaccinated Americans that they can go mask-free most of the time outdoors.

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“If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing many things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic,” the CDC said in a statement.

Masks are still considered necessary for vaccinated people if they are at concerts, parades or large sporting events, even when outdoors, the CDC said.

Indoor activities also remain under a masks recommendation. This includes movie theaters and even “uncrowded” indoor shopping centers and museums, the CDC said.

More than half of all US adults have now received at least one of two vaccine doses. The surging rate of people seeking out vaccines has begun to taper, but new Covid-19 cases are also falling.

Biden said the change signified a shift in the way people can enjoy life as the summer approaches.

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“Beginning today, gathering with a group of friends in a park, going for a picnic — as long as you are vaccinated and outdoors, you can do it without a mask,” he said.

Although he walked out of the White House to his podium on the lawn wearing a black mask, he walked back without.

“By watching me take it off and not put it back on till I get inside,” he said when asked by reporters what message he was sending with his own mask wearing.

– Aid for India –

The CDC stressed that its newly relaxed guidance only applies to people who have had their full vaccine doses and are two weeks past the final shot.

Meanwhile, the US government announced it would send up to 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine abroad, after critics had accused Washington of “hoarding” the British-developed vaccine, which is not authorized in the country and will likely not be required to vaccinate Americans.

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Biden told journalists that he is looking especially at helping India, which is in the grip of a deadly coronavirus surge.

Biden said he’d talked “at length” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and “we are sending immediately a whole series of help that he needs, including providing for those Remdesivir and other drugs that are able to deal with this.”

Biden said he has “hope and expectation” that assistance will extend to sending vaccines. That “will be my intention,” he said.

International

Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka

Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.

The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.

An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.

The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.

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Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.

Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.

Internacionales

Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages

May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.

In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.

Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.

International

Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.

During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.

“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.

“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”

Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.

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On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.