Biden defends stimulus plan as US struggles to add back jobs - Financial Times

Joe Biden, the US president, defended his plans for a $1.9tn fiscal stimulus package after data showed the economy creating a paltry 49,000 jobs last month as it struggled through the latest surge of coronavirus infections.

Speaking from the White House alongside Janet Yellen, the Treasury secretary, Mr Biden said the “biggest risk” on fiscal policy was not if the US government went “too big” but rather “too small”, stifling the rebound.

The US president suggested he wanted to avoid repeating the mistakes made in the aftermath of the financial crisis, when the Obama administration was forced to shift quickly to deficit reduction amid Republican opposition to more spending.

“The recovery could have been faster, and even bigger,” Mr Biden said. “Today, we need an answer that meets the challenge of this crisis, not one to fall short.”

The small increase in non-farm payrolls last month partly reversed a dip in job creation during December as sectors such as leisure, hospitality and retailing continued to shed jobs. Gains were concentrated in government employment and professional and business services.

The unemployment rate dropped to 6.3 per cent from 6.7 per cent in December, although that was driven by workers exiting the labour force — a discouraging trend.

Alicia Levine, chief strategist at BNY Mellon Investment Management, said the report served as a reminder of the extent of the damage caused by the pandemic. “What is really disheartening is the decline in the labour force participation rate,” she said. “That is never something you want to see.

“The real risk to the recovery here is the 10m people who are not working, who were working in February of 2020,” Levine added. “There is plenty of money sloshing around supporting businesses, supporting markets and supporting asset prices, but on the ground, there are sectors that just may not come back.”

The weakness of the US jobs market has been one of the main catalysts for Biden’s drive to enact a $1.9tn economic stimulus plan during his first weeks in the White House.

While Biden has engaged in some negotiations with moderate Republicans on a compromise, he is leaning towards passing a version of it with only Democratic support, to avoid seeing it watered down excessively.

Early on Friday, the US Senate passed a bill approving a process in the upper chamber that will allow Democrats to approve Biden’s stimulus measures with a simple majority of votes. Friday’s bill was approved with Kamala Harris, the vice-president, casting the tiebreaking vote after a 50-50 split between the two parties.

The potential for large-scale new economic stimulus, along with hopes for widespread vaccination distribution, has bolstered confidence in a significant US economic recovery in 2021, after last year’s contraction.

Jay Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, and other US policymakers have warned that the economy remains vulnerable to setbacks because of the trajectory of the virus as well as the structural shifts in the economy, including long-term scarring, associated with the pandemic.

But Lawrence Summers, the former US Treasury secretary under Bill Clinton and Harvard University professor, warned that Biden’s plan may be excessive.

“The Biden plan is a vital step forward, but we must make sure that it is enacted in a way that neither threatens future inflation and financial stability nor our ability to build back better through public investment,” he wrote in an opinion piece for The Washington Post this week.

US Treasuries pared earlier losses on Friday after the report. Yields, which fall as prices rise, slipped to 1.15 per cent for the 10-year benchmark note. Before the release, they hovered at 1.165 per cent.

The S&P 500 closed 0.4 per cent higher in New York on Friday. The dollar index was down 0.6 per cent.

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2021-02-05 18:51:00Z
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Russia expels European diplomats over Navalny protests - BBC News

EPA

Russia has expelled three diplomats from Germany, Sweden and Poland for joining protests in support of opposition activist Alexei Navalny, who was jailed earlier this week.

The Russian foreign ministry said the three took part in "illegal demonstrations" on 23 January.

The diplomats' home countries have condemned the expulsions, as have the UK, France and the EU.

Mr Navalny is a vociferous critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

• Alexei Navalny: Russia's vociferous Putin critic
• Jailing Navalny may mean more problems for Putin
• Millions watch jailed critic's 'Putin palace' film

The expulsions were announced just a few hours after EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

Hundreds of thousands of people took part in protests in support of Mr Navalny across Russia on 23 and 31 January. Thousands were arrested.

Germany denounced the expulsion as being "in no way justified" and said it would not "go unanswered" if Russia did not reconsider.

Sweden said the claim that its diplomat took part in the protest on 23 January was unfounded and said it reserved the right to an appropriate response.

Poland said the expulsion could lead to the "further deepening of the crisis in bilateral relations".

Mr Borrell, on behalf of the EU, said he "strongly condemned this decision and rejected the allegations that they conducted activities incompatible with their status as foreign diplomats".

However, Mr Lavrov said any European sanctions over Mr Navalny's treatment would be illegitimate.

Both Germany and Poland said they had summoned their respective Russian ambassadors to express concern over the expulsions - a move that could possibly lead to tit-for-tat measures and more diplomats being sent home.

Who is Alexei Navalny?

Mr Navalny, 44, is a political activist who has campaigned against corruption and Mr Putin since 2011.

Last August he was poisoned with a nerve agent in eastern Russia and taken to Germany for treatment. He returned home at the end of January, despite warnings from the Russian government that he would be arrested.

He was then jailed for three-and-a-half years for what prosecutors said was a violation of the terms of a suspended sentence for fraud in 2014. A year was later deducted from his sentence for time served under house arrest.

Mr Navalny accuses Mr Putin of running an administration riddled with corruption and of organising the poison attack that nearly killed him.

Shortly after his return to Russia, Mr Navalny released a YouTube video featuring an opulent Black Sea palace which, he alleged, was a Russian billionaires' gift to the president. More than 100 million people have watched the video.

Mr Putin has denied ownership. Last week Arkady Rotenberg, a billionaire businessman close to Mr Putin, came forward to say he bought the palace two years ago.

Mr Navalny will be back in court on 12 February on charges of defaming a World War Two veteran.

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2021-02-05 17:44:00Z
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Myanmar coup: Teachers join growing protests against military - BBC News

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A civil disobedience movement in Myanmar is gaining momentum with teachers and students protesting against Monday's military coup.

Demonstrators at a university in the biggest city, Yangon, chanted support for jailed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and wore red ribbons, her party's colour.

Ms Suu Kyi and other leaders have been held since the coup on Monday.

Earlier, the military detained another senior leader from her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

Although Ms Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since Monday, she is believed to be under house arrest, according to an NLD official.

Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, has remained mostly calm in the aftermath of the coup, which has plunged the South East Asian country into uncertainty.

• Myanmar coup: What is happening and why?
• Myanmar country profile

On Friday afternoon, hundreds of teachers and students gathered outside Dagon University in Yangon, where they displayed the three-finger salute - a sign that has been adopted by protesters in the region to show their opposition to authoritarian rule.

They chanted their support for Ms Suu Kyi and carried red flags.

"We will not let our generation suffer under this kind of military dictatorship," Min Sithu, a student, told the AFP news agency.

• Where else have we seen the three-finger salute?

Social media focus for protests

By Nyein Chan, BBC Burmese, Yangon

The first reaction to the coup was shock and horror. But now people have had time to digest what is happening and are finding different ways to fight back.

As the regime takes more steps to tighten its control, an increasing number of people are joining the leaderless civil disobedience campaign demanding a return of the democratically elected government.

The military has blocked the most popular social media platform, Facebook, but most people are still able to access it using virtual private networks - VPNs - and that's where lots of the protests are taking place.

People here know very well the violent crackdowns the military is capable of, so that's why for now there are no widespread street protests. But there are other ways people can have their voices heard.

The lecturers who took part in Friday's campus protests said they were doing it for the next generation.

I have a 1 and half year-old child. I grew up under military rule and the economic sanctions that came as a result of it. I prayed that my son would grow up in a very different Burma. Now I am not so sure what his future will be like.

BBC Burmese

BBC Burmese

There have been a number of demonstrations in different parts of Myanmar - the first large-scale street protests seen in the country since the coup.

Residents in some cities, including Yangon, have conducted nightly protests from their homes, banging pots and pans and singing revolutionary songs. There have also been daytime flash mobs.

About 70 MPs are said to have held an insurgent parliament, to replicate the parliamentary session that was supposed to take place this week.

AFP

In a pre-dawn phone call with BBC Burmese, Win Htein, a 79-year-old patron of the NLD and strong supporter of Ms Suu Kyi, said he was being taken to the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, by members of the police and the military.

He said he was being detained under sedition laws - which carry a maximum punishment of life imprisonment - although he was not told the exact charge.

"They don't like what I've been talking about. They are afraid of what I'm saying," he said.

• What evidence is there of election fraud in Myanmar?
• Growing up under Myanmar's military rule
• How Facebook became Myanmar's 'digital tea shop'
• How the military disrupted Myanmar's internet

Reuters

Many have also turned online to protest against the coup. The military has since temporarily banned Facebook, which is widely used across the country.

Since the ban began on Thursday, many Burmese citizens appear to have flocked to other social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram.

Twitter declined to comment when asked by the BBC if it had seen a spike in new users or tweets from Myanmar.

• Myanmar coup: 'Our world turned upside down'
• Fitness coach films video as Myanmar coup unfolds

The military overthrew Ms Suu Kyi's government after it claimed a November election won by the NLD was fraudulent, though the country's election commission said there was no evidence to back up these allegations.

The move has been met with global outrage.

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden called on the military to "relinquish power" and release detained officials and activists. The US had already threatened severe sanctions on Myanmar.

However, the military is seemingly undeterred, continuing down its path of consolidating power and appointing new ministers, says the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head.

The UN Security Council also called on the military authorities in Myanmar to release Ms Suu Kyi and other detained leaders - but stopped short of condemning the coup.

In doing so, it has brought China and Russia behind a call for her release, in what our correspondent has described as a rare show of international unity.

Myanmar at a glance

Myanmar is a country of 54 million people in South East Asia which shares borders with Bangladesh, India, China, Thailand and Laos.

It was ruled by an oppressive military government from 1962 to 2011, leading to international condemnation and sanctions.

Aung San Suu Kyi spent years campaigning for democratic reforms. A gradual liberalisation began in 2010, though the military still retained considerable influence.

A government led by Ms Suu Kyi came to power after free elections in 2015. But a deadly military crackdown two years later on Rohingya Muslims sent hundreds of thousands fleeing to Bangladesh.

It triggered a rift between Ms Suu Kyi and the international community after she refused to condemn the crackdown or describe it as ethnic cleansing.

She has remained popular at home and her party won again by a landslide in the November 2020 election. But the military have now stepped in to take control once more.

Have you been affected by recent events in Myanmar? You can share your experience by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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2021-02-05 17:00:00Z
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Russia to expel three EU diplomats as Navalny tensions grow - Financial Times

Moscow has ordered the expulsion of three European diplomats, one each from the German, Polish and Swedish delegations to Russia, accusing them of participating in protests in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. 

The move came during a visit to Moscow on Friday by Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief.

Borrell said he was “really upset” by the expulsion plans, which caught him off guard. They were reported by Russian media outlets in the midst of talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. 

“We reject these allegations,” Borrell told reporters, saying he had “refused and rebutted” the claims during his meeting with the Russian foreign minister. He also said diplomatic convention permitted diplomats to observe events such as protest rallies. 

German chancellor Angela Merkel called the Russian action “unjustified”.

Borrell said Lavrov had told him the expulsions were due to be announced on Monday but had been inadvertently leaked to the press.

In a statement confirming the move, Russia’s foreign ministry said the diplomats’ alleged participation in the rallies was “unacceptable and inappropriate for their diplomatic status”.

The expulsions capped a difficult visit for Borrell, the first senior EU official to travel to Russia since 2017. The talks failed to produce any tangible successes in efforts to free Navalny, but pleased Moscow after Borrell called for the EU to approve Russia’s state-developed Covid-19 vaccine.

At a press conference following the talks with Lavrov, Borrell said confirmation of the high efficacy of the Sputnik V jab was “good for all mankind, it means we will have more tools to fight the pandemic”.

“I hope that now the European Medicines Agency will be able to certify this vaccine for use in the EU member states,” he said. “This will be good news for us, because, as you know, we do not have enough vaccines and an additional source of their supply is only welcome.”

The European Commission is under fire for a slow rollout of Covid-19 vaccines with the bloc lagging behind other major powers and failing to secure sufficient jabs. In a study published in The Lancet this week, Sputnik V was found to have an efficacy of 91.6 per cent.

The Russian jab attracted controversy and some international criticism when president Vladimir Putin approved it for use this summer before it had even completed early-stage testing. The endorsement by Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, comes after French president Emmanuel Macron said this week that he was open to using it received EMA approval. Germany said it was in talks to potentially help with finding production sites for the jab in Europe.

Borrell’s visit comes just two days after Russia jailed Navalny for more than two-and-a-half years and amid a brutal police crackdown on peaceful protesters who have rallied against his detention, which supporters say is an effort by the Kremlin to silence criticism.

He said he had reiterated the bloc’s demands for the release of Navalny and a full investigation into his attempted assassination last August. But Borrell stopped short of warning Moscow of any consequences if it did not comply and said there were no calls from any member states for additional sanctions in response.

“We have to recognise that over the last years, our relations have been marked by fundamental differences and lack of trust,” Borrell said. “We see each other more as competitors and rivals than partners.”

“The European Union is an unreliable partner,” Lavrov said. “Further degradation of ties is fraught with negative and very, very unpredictable consequences.”

Moscow began talks with the EMA last month about the approval of Sputnik V and the process is at an early stage. The EMA is independent of the European Commission and Borrell has no formal role in the bloc’s vaccine procurement procedure.

Hungary was the first EU member state to approve Sputnik V, using national emergency measures to allow it to be used temporarily, and prime minister Viktor Orban has said doses could start to be administered next week.

The Borrell-Lavrov talks, which continued after the press conference, also focused on the conflict in Ukraine, the Iran nuclear deal, climate change, the Middle East and co-operation in areas such as anti-terrorism and combating drug trafficking.

While the visit has stoked opposition from a group of EU member states close to Russia’s borders, including Poland and Baltic countries, the decision to go ahead reflects the bloc’s splits on policy toward the Kremlin.

Some member states are keen to find areas of mutual co-operation with Russia despite years of souring relations and confrontation stemming from Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, allegations of Kremlin-ordered assassinations in European countries and attempts to meddle in member state elections.

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2021-02-05 16:05:00Z
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All adults over 50 should have Covid vaccine by May - Lancs Live

All adults aged 50 and over should receive a coronavirus vaccine by May, Downing Street has confirmed.

Ministers have previously refused to give a firm date, saying only that the “ambition” was to vaccinate the first nine priority groups “by the spring”.

However, amid signs of confusion in Whitehall, the Cabinet Office issued a press notice on Friday morning stating the UK vaccination programme planned to reach all nine priority groups by May.

It said the rollout of the programme meant that local elections could go ahead in England and Wales on May 6 as planned.

But less than three hours after it was released, Downing Street said it had been issued “in error” and was being withdrawn – only to row back a few minutes later and confirm it was correct.

In a chaotic online briefing for political journalists, a No 10 spokesperson said: “This was issued in error. I believe the Cabinet Office have now withdrawn it.”

But when pressed again on the issue, the spokesperson said: “It isn’t actually being withdrawn.

“We have confirmed today that the elections must go ahead. The Government is supporting that delivery with funding and plans that they take place in a way that is Covid secure.

“The Cabinet Office document is correct.”

The spokesperson said Boris Johnson would set out a “precise timeline” when he publishes the Government’s roadmap for lifting lockdown restrictions in England on February 15.

Under new rules set out by the Cabinet Office, voters will have to wear face coverings inside polling stations and will be asked to bring their own pen or pencil to mark their ballot when they go to vote on May 6.

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Proxy voting rules will also be changed so that people who have to self-isolate can request an emergency proxy vote up to 5pm on polling day.

“Super Thursday” in May is set to see a bumper set of elections taking place across Great Britain – including a number of contests postponed from 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In London, there will be elections for the mayor and assembly, which were originally due to take place last year.

Across the rest of England and Wales, voters will be choosing a mixture of councillors, local mayors, regional mayors and police commissioners.

Voters in Scotland and Wales will also be choosing new parliaments – though a decision on whether these will go ahead will be made by their respective governments.

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2021-02-05 14:34:00Z
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Russia expels European diplomats over Navalny protests - BBC News

EPA

Russia has expelled three diplomats from Germany, Sweden and Poland for joining protests in support of opposition activist Alexei Navalny, who was jailed earlier this week.

The Russian foreign ministry said the three took part in "illegal demonstrations" on 23 January.

A Swedish foreign ministry spokeswoman has denied that its diplomat participated in any demonstration.

Mr Navalny is a vociferous critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Last August he was poisoned in eastern Russia and taken to Germany for treatment. He returned home at the end of January, despite warnings from the Russian government that he would be arrested.

He was then jailed for three-and-a-half years for what prosecutors said was a violation of the terms of a suspended sentence for fraud in 2014.

The expulsion of the diplomats was announced on Friday, hours after EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts.

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2021-02-05 15:16:00Z
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COVID-19: Government aims for all over-50s to be reached in vaccine drive by May - Sky News

The government has revealed it wants all over-50s to be reached in the coronavirus vaccine rollout by May.

It is a significant target and the first time a firm date has been put on when all those in the top nine categories on the priority list for a COVID-19 jab will be offered one by.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman yesterday would only say the deadline was the "end of spring" - and refused to explain whether that could be as late as mid-June.

But the new aim was slipped out by the Cabinet Office when it announced that the upcoming local and mayoral elections will definitely go ahead, albeit with social distancing and in COVID-secure polling stations.

It confirmed: "The UK's vaccination programme is planned to have reached all nine priority cohorts by May, meaning that the government can commit to go ahead with these polls with confidence."

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The Cabinet Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the vaccine rollout reaching the over-50s means they should be fully inoculated or just offered their first jab.

It seems the announcement came out by accident, given Prime Minister Boris Johnson's deputy spokesman first said the press release was sent out "in error" then later admitted it was "correct".

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Image: People are being told to stay at home during lockdown

Currently, the UK is on group four of nine, meaning jabs can be given to all those aged 70 and over, the clinically extremely vulnerable and care home residents and staff.

The remaining priority groups are:

• 5: All those 65 years of age and over
• 6: Adults aged 16 to 65 years in an at-risk group
• 7: All those 60 years of age and over
• 8: All those 55 years of age and over
• 9: All those 50 years of age and over

Britain's vaccine rollout has been one of the fastest in the world with the approval of three vaccines - two of which are already being produced and administered.

But given the pace of progress, attention is already turning to what will happen when a large part of the population has been inoculated.

Sky News has confirmed with government sources that plans are being looked at for immunity passports, hoped to allowed Britons to travel abroad if the rules are changed to allow it.

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'Gradual reopening of economy' by March

Sweden's government announced on Thursday it plans to launch a digital coronavirus vaccine passport by summer, if there is an international standard in place by then.

And Denmark also said this week it would launch a first version of the document by the end of February.

So far more than 10 million people across the UK have had their first dose of a COVID jab.

A further 915 coronavirus-related deaths were announced on Thursday, taking the total to 110,250.

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2021-02-05 12:56:41Z
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