US to donate 500m doses of Pfizer's Covid vaccine - Financial Times

The US will purchase 500m Covid-19 vaccines made by Pfizer to donate to other countries, Joe Biden will announce on Thursday, a significant expansion of the country’s efforts to help increase inoculation rates around the world.

The Biden administration had agreed to buy 200m doses this year and 300m in the first half of next year to send to other countries, according to a person familiar with the deal, who confirmed an earlier report by The Washington Post.

The agreement is a big increase on the 80m vaccine doses already pledged by the Biden administration to other countries, following criticism that the US is hoarding doses instead of helping those in need.

The White House did not comment, while Pfizer did not immediately respond to a request to do so. The US president is expected to make the announcement in the UK, ahead of the G7 summit this weekend in Cornwall.

The US has overseen one of the fastest vaccine rollouts in the world, providing at least one dose to just over half of its population. But demand for doses has slowed in recent weeks, and just over 1m people are now receiving vaccinations each day — down from about 3.5m a day in April.

Biden previously promised to donate 80m doses from the country’s stockpile, the first 25m of which were allocated last week. That pledge has been deemed inadequate by some experts, who warn that more will be needed to help countries like India, which has seen a devastating second wave of the disease in recent months.

All 500m doses would be allocated through the Covax scheme backed by the World Health Organization, according to the person briefed on the details, and given to 92 countries.

Covax has promised to deliver 2bn doses around the world by the end of the year, but has been hampered by the Serum Institute of India’s decision to stop exporting doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine it has made while the country battles its second wave.

The US government’s side of the negotiations was spearheaded by Jeff Zients, the head of Biden’s Covid-19 task force, the person added. Administration officials did not say how much the doses would cost.

US officials said they were also looking at how to increase production in other countries, especially of mRNA vaccines such as those made by BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna, which have represented the bulk of the US rollout.

But some campaigners want the administration to go further, and force vaccine makers to hand over their technology to companies in other countries to help kickstart production outside the US.

Peter Maybarduk, director of the Access to Medicines programme at consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said in a statement: “We have yet to see a plan from the US government or the G7 of the needed ambition or urgency to make billions more doses and end the pandemic.

“President Biden and other leaders underestimate their power to set terms with the vaccine makers and co-ordinate immediate production at massive scale.”

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2021-06-09 19:56:29Z
CAIiEFd_L523JHIAbnQ-DCKUIeEqFwgEKg8IACoHCAow-4fWBzD4z0gwwtp6

COVID-19: America to give 500 million Pfizer coronavirus jabs to poorer countries - Sky News

The US is to distribute half a billion shots of the Pfizer vaccine to nearly 100 poorer countries.

Some 200 million doses will be given out this year and 300 million in 2022.

It comes as US President Joe Biden said before leaving for the G7 summit in Cornwall that he would be announcing a vaccine strategy for the world.

The US will pay for the doses at a "not-for-profit" price, according to the New York Times, which said the plan could be officially announced on Thursday.

Image: Joe Biden and the first lady arrived in the UK on Wednesday, ahead of the G7 summit

The shots will go to 92 lower-income countries and the African Union, but Pfizer and the White House have so far not commented.

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America is well advanced in its vaccine rollout but campaigners have called for richer countries to do more to help protect developing nations.

The half a billion jabs will be distributed via the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Covax scheme, which is trying to fix so-called "vaccine apartheid" by working with governments and manufacturers to ensure an equitable distribution of jabs.

More on Covid-19

It aims to deliver two billion doses in 2021, and 1.8 billion doses by early 2022.

Only 2% of Africa's population have received at least one dose of a vaccine, while globally it's 24%, says the WHO.

In the UK, the figure is about 60%, and around 50% in America.

Image: The Covax scheme will distribute the half a billion US jabs

The urgency is highlighted by a recent 20% increase in COVID cases in Africa compared with the previous fortnight.

In a statement last week, the WHO said the pandemic was trending upwards in 14 countries on the continent - but that vaccine shipments were continuing to slow down.

The Biden administration had already pledged to share 80 million vaccine doses globally by the end of June, with the first shipments due in the next few weeks.

Along with jabs for its own population, the New York Times said the new pledge would take the Pfizer-BioNTech shots bought by the US to 800 million.

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Donald Trump-era ban on TikTok dropped by Joe Biden - BBC News

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President Joe Biden has revoked an executive order from his predecessor Donald Trump banning Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat in the US.

The ban faced a series of legal challenges and never came into force.

Instead, the US Department of Commerce will now review apps designed and developed by those in "the jurisdiction of a foreign adversary", such as China.

It should use an "evidence-based approach" to see if they pose a risk to US national security, Mr Biden said.

TikTok did not offer comment on the news.

Mr Trump ordered the ban on new downloads of the viral video app TikTok, which is owned by Chinese firm Bytedance, in 2020.

He described it at the time as a threat to national security.

A proposal was produced that would have seen Oracle and Walmart owning a US entity of the service, and taking responsibility for handling TikTok's US user data and content moderation.

But a series of legal challenges, and the fact Mr Trump was due to leave office shortly afterwards, meant neither the ban nor the involvement of the US companies ever came to fruition.

Data collection

In his new executive order, President Biden said that the federal government should evaluate threats posed by China-based apps and software through "rigorous, evidence-based analysis", and should address "any unacceptable or undue risks consistent with overall national security, foreign policy, and economic objectives".

He acknowledged that apps can "access and capture vast swathes of information from users".

"This data collection threatens to provide foreign adversaries with access to that information," he said.

TikTok is used by about 80 million Americans every month.

Ashley Gorski, a senior lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), welcomed the decision to overturn the ban.

"President Biden is right to revoke these Trump administration executive orders, which blatantly violated the First Amendment rights of TikTok and WeChat users in the United States," she said.

"The Commerce Department's review of these and other apps must not take us down the same misguided path, by serving as a smokescreen for future bans or other unlawful actions."

Next week, President Biden is due to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and the two are expected to announce a partnership around technology and trade, in an attempt to push back on China's rise as a technology superpower.

It is likely the partnership will include joint standards around emerging technologies, as well as commitments to take firmer action policing the internet, and to act on the critical supply chain issues that have arisen during the Covid pandemic.

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2021-06-09 17:02:17Z
52781656101055

Donald Trump-era ban on TikTok dropped by Joe Biden - BBC News

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President Joe Biden has revoked an executive order from his predecessor Donald Trump banning Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat in the US.

The ban faced a series of legal challenges and never came into force.

Instead, the US Department of Commerce will now review apps designed and developed by those in "the jurisdiction of a foreign adversary", such as China.

It should use an "evidence-based approach" to see if they pose a risk to US national security, Mr Biden said.

TikTok did not offer comment on the news.

Mr Trump ordered the ban on new downloads of the viral video app TikTok, which is owned by Chinese firm Bytedance, in 2020.

He described it at the time as a threat to national security.

A proposal was produced that would have seen Oracle and Walmart owning a US entity of the service, and taking responsibility for handling TikTok's US user data and content moderation.

But a series of legal challenges, and the fact Mr Trump was due to leave office shortly afterwards, meant neither the ban nor the involvement of the US companies ever came to fruition.

Data collection

In his new executive order, President Biden said that the federal government should evaluate threats posed by China-based apps and software through "rigorous, evidence-based analysis", and should address "any unacceptable or undue risks consistent with overall national security, foreign policy, and economic objectives".

He acknowledged that apps can "access and capture vast swathes of information from users".

"This data collection threatens to provide foreign adversaries with access to that information," he said.

TikTok is used by about 80 million Americans every month.

Next week, President Biden is due to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and the two are expected to announce a partnership around technology and trade, in an attempt to push back on China's rise as a technology superpower.

It is likely the partnership will include joint standards around emerging technologies, as well as commitments to take firmer action policing the internet, and to act on the critical supply chain issues that have arisen during the Covid pandemic.

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2021-06-09 16:10:56Z
52781656101055

Halo Trust: Afghanistan mine clearance workers shot dead 'in cold blood' - BBC News

Reuters

At least 10 mine clearers working for Halo Trust in Afghanistan's northern province of Baghlan have been shot dead, and more than a dozen wounded.

Afghan officials blamed the Taliban, saying militants "started shooting everyone" in the compound.

But Halo Trust CEO James Cowan told the BBC that "the local Taliban... came to our aid and scared the assailants off". The Taliban also denied the attack.

Violence has surged since the US began to withdraw its last troops on 1 May.

The departure of international troops comes amid a deadlock in peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

• Rapid relocation planned for Afghan interpreters
• How can the West fight terror after leaving Afghanistan?
• Have things got better in Afghanistan?

Several districts in Baghlan province have seen fierce fighting between the Taliban and government forces.

The workers were killed when masked gunmen burst into their compound at 21:50 (17:20 GMT) on Tuesday, after they had spent a day removing mines from a nearby field.

Interior Ministry spokesman Tareq Arian told reporters that "the Taliban entered a compound of a mine-clearing agency... and started shooting everyone".

But the Taliban issued a swift denial.

"We condemn attacks on the defenceless and view it as brutality," the militant group's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, tweeted. "We have normal relations with NGOs [non-governmental organisations]. Our Mujahideen will never carry out such brutal attacks."

Mr Cowan of the Halo Trust told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the attackers went "bed to bed" shooting the workers "in cold blood" - but that the local Taliban helped the deminers.

"I think it's important to know that the Taliban have denied responsibility for this, and indeed the local Taliban group came to our aid and scared the assailants off," he said.

"We don't know who the assailants were - we could speculate about that but I won't - but I think we have the capacity as the Halo Trust to operate on both sides of the line in this awful conflict," he added.

Mr Cowan later told the BBC Afghan service that the attackers specifically targeted members of the Hazara ethnic minority group.

Hazaras, Afghanistan's third-largest ethnic group, have faced long-term discrimination and persecution, primarily because of their Shia Muslim faith. In recent years, they have faced abductions and killings at the hands of both the Islamic State group and the Taliban, which are both Sunni Muslim.

"A group of armed men came to our camp and sought out members of the Hazara community, and then murdered them," Mr Cowan said. "This was not expected. The broader security situation [in Afghanistan] is understood, but this kind of cold-blooded killing was not expected."

Attackers unknown but motive clear

Analysis by Inayatulhaq Yasini, BBC Kabul Bureau Editor

Halo Trust and other demining organisations have been working in Afghanistan for more than three decades, freely moving even near frontlines. A fact I have seen for myself.

Halo Trust has 3,000 staff in Afghanistan. Warring factions have been helpful to deminers in the past - however it has been rare for the Taliban or other groups to come forward to help victims of an attack. Halo Trust mostly hires local people, which also creates jobs for local communities.

The organisation's CEO, James Cowan, told the BBC the attackers had "fled to an area which is not controlled by the Taliban". The province of Baghlan where the attack happened has been the scene of fighting between the government and the Taliban for weeks. Anyone can exploit a situation where different local militias and warlords are also active in the province.

It is difficult to know who carried out the attack, but the aim is clear: to incite ethnic tension among Afghans, where 40 years of war has already widely affected unity in the country.

In a clip police in Baghlan shared with reporters, a survivor of the attack also said the gunmen had asked if any of them were from the Hazara minority community before opening fire.

"Five to six armed men came, they took us to a room," he said. "First they took all our money and mobile phones, and then they asked who our leader was. They asked, 'Is any Hazara here among you?' We told them, 'We don't have any Hazara here.'"

He added that he had been shot in the head, but managed to escape through a window.

The UK-based Halo Trust was founded in 1988 to remove ordnance left behind from the almost decade-long Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

It was supported by Princess Diana, as well as by her son Prince Harry.

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2021-06-09 14:58:07Z
52781655846498

Halo Trust: Afghanistan mine clearance workers shot dead 'in cold blood' - BBC News

Reuters

At least 10 mine clearers working for Halo Trust in Afghanistan's northern province of Baghlan have been shot dead, and more than a dozen wounded.

Afghan officials blamed the Taliban, saying militants "started shooting everyone" in the compound.

But Halo Trust CEO James Cowan told the BBC that "the local Taliban... came to our aid and scared the assailants off". The Taliban also denied the attack.

Violence has surged since the US began to withdraw its last troops on 1 May.

The departure of international troops comes amid a deadlock in peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

• Rapid relocation planned for Afghan interpreters
• How can the West fight terror after leaving Afghanistan?
• Have things got better in Afghanistan?

Several districts in Baghlan province have seen fierce fighting between the Taliban and government forces.

The workers were killed when masked gunmen burst into their compound at 21:50 (17:20 GMT) on Tuesday, after they had spent a day removing mines from a nearby field.

Interior Ministry spokesman Tareq Arian told reporters that "the Taliban entered a compound of a mine-clearing agency... and started shooting everyone".

But the Taliban issued a swift denial.

"We condemn attacks on the defenceless and view it as brutality," the militant group's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, tweeted. "We have normal relations with NGOs [non-governmental organisations]. Our Mujahideen will never carry out such brutal attacks."

Mr Cowan of the Halo Trust told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the attackers went "bed to bed" shooting the workers "in cold blood" - but that the local Taliban helped the deminers.

"I think it's important to know that the Taliban have denied responsibility for this, and indeed the local Taliban group came to our aid and scared the assailants off," he said.

"We don't know who the assailants were - we could speculate about that but I won't - but I think we have the capacity as the Halo Trust to operate on both sides of the line in this awful conflict," he added.

Mr Cowan later told the BBC Afghan service that the attackers specifically targeted members of the Hazara ethnic minority group.

Hazaras, Afghanistan's third-largest ethnic group, have faced long-term discrimination and persecution, primarily because of their Shia Muslim faith. In recent years, they have faced abductions and killings at the hands of both the Islamic State group and the Taliban, which are both Sunni Muslim.

"A group of armed men came to our camp and sought out members of the Hazara community, and then murdered them," Mr Cowan said. "This was not expected. The broader security situation [in Afghanistan] is understood, but this kind of cold-blooded killing was not expected."

Attackers unknown but motive clear

Analysis by Inayatulhaq Yasini, BBC Kabul Bureau Editor

Halo Trust and other demining organisations have been working in Afghanistan for more than three decades, freely moving even near frontlines. A fact I have seen for myself.

Halo Trust has 3,000 staff in Afghanistan. Warring factions have been helpful to deminers in the past - however it has been rare for the Taliban or other groups to come forward to help victims of an attack. Halo Trust mostly hires local people, which also creates jobs for local communities.

The organisation's CEO, James Cowan, told the BBC the attackers had "fled to an area which is not controlled by the Taliban". The province of Baghlan where the attack happened has been the scene of fighting between the government and the Taliban for weeks. Anyone can exploit a situation where different local militias and warlords are also active in the province.

It is difficult to know who carried out the attack, but the aim is clear: to incite ethnic tension among Afghans, where 40 years of war has already widely affected unity in the country.

In a clip police in Baghlan shared with reporters, a survivor of the attack also said the gunmen had asked if any of them were from the Hazara minority community before opening fire.

"Five to six armed men came, they took us to a room," he said. "First they took all our money and mobile phones, and then they asked who our leader was. They asked, 'Is any Hazara here among you?' We told them, 'We don't have any Hazara here.'"

He added that he had been shot in the head, but managed to escape through a window.

The UK-based Halo Trust was founded in 1988 to remove ordnance left behind from the almost decade-long Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

It was supported by Princess Diana, as well as by her son Prince Harry.

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2021-06-09 13:14:08Z
52781655846498

Biden jets off for the G7 and Putin summit for his first foreign trip - Daily Mail

Bugging out! Biden swats HUGE cicada from his neck as he and Jill jet off from Andrews on their first foreign trip: President heads to G7 in the UK where he'll also meet the Queen

• President Biden left the White House Wednesday on the way to Europe for an eight-day trip
• He said his mission was to show Russia and China that Europe and the United States were 'tight' 
• Before leaving Joint Base Andrews, he also said he would be announcing a vaccine plan for the world 
• The president left just hours after his infrastructure talks collapsed with Republicans 
• The administration is also facing criticism over Kamala's Northern Triangle trip
• Biden and wife Jill are set to land on Air Force One at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk 
• He will then meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday  
• On Sunday, the first couple will head to Windsor Castle to meet the Queen  
• Biden will then come face-to-face with Putin on June 16 in Geneva  

By Rob Crilly For Dailymail.com

Published: 13:22 BST, 9 June 2021 | Updated: 15:14 BST, 9 June 2021

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill left the White House on Wednesday on the way to Europe for the G7, a meeting with the Queen and his summit with Vladimir Putin.

Officials have billed the trip as a coming out party for a new administration intent on rebuilding alliances after the Trump years but it will come as a welcome relief to a president a day after the collapse of infrastructure talks with Republicans and amid intense criticism of Kamala Harris' trip to Guatemala and Mexico. 

As he left Joint Base Andrews he swatted away a cicada that landed on his neck.

'Watch out for cicadas,' he told journalists traveling with him on Air Force One. 'I just got one... it got me.'

His brief brush proved a lucky escape. Journalists traveling separately to cover Biden's visit were delayed by seven hours on Tuesday night as the flying insects overran their charter plane. 

Biden also told reporters that his G7 mission was part of a mission to demonstrate unity among western democracies.

'Making clear to Putin and and to China that Europe and the United States are tight,' he said, adding that he would also be unveiling a COVID-19 vaccine plan for the world.  

President Biden brushes a cicada from his neck as he and first lady Jill Biden leave for the United Kingdom from Joint Base Andrews. The eight-day swing to Britain and Europe is the president's first foreign trip as he tries to reassert the United States on the world stage, but it will come as welcome relief a day after his key infrastructure package suffered a setback when negotiations with Republicans collapsed

Cicadas delayed the departure of a press plane carrying journalists by seven hours. Biden swatted away one of the flying insects before warning his traveling pool of journalists, 'Watch out for cicadas' before leaving for the United Kingdom

Biden told reporters that part of the aim of the trip is demonstrate unity between Europe and the United States to Russia and China. 'Making clear to Putin and and to China that Europe and the United States are tight,' he said, adding that he would also be unveiling a COVID-19 vaccine plan for the world

Schedule for President Biden's Europe Trip

President Joe Biden makes a eight-day trip to Europe. Here is the itinerary so far: 

June 9:  Visit US Air Force personnel and their families stationed at Royal Air Force Mildenhall

June 10: Meeting with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson

June 11-13: Attending G7 Summit in Cornwall

June 13: He and Dr. Jill Biden meet with The Queen at Windsor Castle 

June 14: NATO Summit in Brussels

June 15: U.S.–EU Summit in Brussels 

June 16: Meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva 

Biden and Jill are expected to land at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk to meet US troops on Wednesday night as they kick off an eight-day trip to Europe.

He will then meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday, where the pair will affirm their special relationship, discuss global vaccine strategies and discuss reopening travel corridors.   

The president will then prepare to meet with the rest of the G7 leaders on Saturday in St.Ives in the first major face-to-face summit between world leaders in two years.

He will then head to Brussels to meet with NATO leaders and the European Union before his highly-anticipated summit with Vladimir Putin on June 16.

Biden is kicking off his first foreign trip after White House insiders said they were 'perplexed' by Vice President Harris' pointed answers to questions on whether she will visit the border.

He also heads to the UK amid outrage over American PhD student at Oxford University who removed a portrait of the Queen from a student's room at Magdalen College.

As president of Magdalen's Middle Common Room, an organization of 200 graduate students, Matthew Katzman of Maryland said the portrait was 'unwelcoming' and represents 'recent colonial history'. They're going to replace it with 'art by or of other influential and inspirational people'.

British Education Secretary Gavin Williamson tweeted: 'Oxford University students removing a picture of the Queen is simply absurd. She is the Head of State and a symbol of what is best about the UK. During her long reign she has worked tirelessly to promote British values of tolerance, inclusivity & respect around the world.' 

Biden's hopes of passing his much-touted infrastructure bill now rest on a bipartisan group of senators after direct talks with Republicans collapsed.

Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican representing West Virginia, had been liaising with the White House over the bill.

But their talks collapsed on Tuesday after they'd tentatively bargained $928 billion worth of infrastructure improvements.

Ahead of his trip, Biden is facing increasing criticism for not nominating ambassadors to more than 90 ambassadors, including a representative to the UK.

Many in the diplomatic world expected Biden to name his British ambassador - one of the poshest postings in the diplomatic world - by Thursday's G7 meeting.

The president has named a series of career diplomats to lower level ambassadorial postings, including Bahrain, Somalia, and Algeria. But no one has been nominated for the London position nor any other top destination, such as France, Israel, Russia, China or the European Union.

'It is embarrassing that six months into office we still have over ninety embassies without ambassadors,' Brett Bruen, former US Diplomat and Director of Global Engagement at the Obama White House, told DailyMail.com.

Biden held off on foreign travel due to the coronavirus pandemic but is making up for it with this trip that includes meetings with foreign leaders, Queen Elizabeth II, the king of Belgium, and his Russian counterpart.

Biden and first lady Jill Biden flew by Marine One to Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday morning. From there they travel on Air Force One to Royal Air Force Mildenhall in the United Kingdom

Biden shouted at the press and told them to watch out for the bugs before he spoke to a huddle of reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland 

Biden salutes on the top of the steps of Air Force One ahead of his flight to the UK for the G7 summit 

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill left the White House on Wednesday on the way to Europe for the G7, a meeting with the Queen and his summit with Vladimir Putin

Coronavirus restrictions have limited the president's travel since taking power in January. But the G7 and NATO summits will allow him to pack multiple meetings with world leaders into one trip, before he sits down with President Putin in Geneva. He and his officials have made clear that the trip offers a chance to highlight the importance of alliances in standing up to rival powers such as China and Russia

They jetted off for the president's first foreign trip with his administration facing the fallout of the collapse of his infrastructure talks with Republicans and amid intense criticism over Kamala Harris' trip to Guatemala and Mexico

Biden and Jill are expected to land on Air Force One at RAF Mildenhall to meet US troops in Suffolk on Wednesday night as they kick off an eight-day trip to Europe

First lady Jill Biden will join him for the British portion of the trip but will return to the United States after the first couple meets with the Queen at Windsor Castle next Sunday.

Biden will be the 13th American president the Queen has met since ascending to the throne in 1953.

There is speculation that the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will also meet the American couple at some point during their visit to the UK.

At his sit down with Johnson, Biden will 'affirm the enduring strength of the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement last week.

Biden and Johnson have spoken on the phone multiple times since Biden was elected president.

'There's a range of issues of mutual interest,' Psaki said Thursday at her White House press briefing when asked about the sit down. 'From the future of economic growth in the world to addressing the COVID pandemic to security issues around the world so they have a range of topics they can clearly discuss.'

Johnson will also ask the American president to exempt vaccinated British and American travellers from quarantine restrictions to facilitate travel between the two nations.

The pair board Marine One on the way to Joint Base Andrews where they will catch the flight to the UK for the first leg of their trip

A Royal Navy ship is pictured near St Ives, as security preparations are underway for the G7 leaders summit, in Cornwall, Britain. Biden left on Wednesday morning for an eight-day trip leaving behind a series of headaches for his administration

Snipers take up position ahead of the G7 summit in Corbis bay, Cornwall. Security is tight, with warships stationed off the coastline, as the area prepares for the arrival of world leaders

Demonstrators have begun assembling in Cornwall ahead of the G7 summit. Pictured here, an activist from climate action group Ocean Rebellion wearing a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and another representing the fossil fuel industry, known as 'Oil head' demonstrate in St Ives Harbour

The PM wants to create a 'green channel' for those fully vaccinated, The Times reported, as the summer holiday season approaches.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday declined to say when travel restrictions might be eased.

'This is a process being driven by science and public health guidance and so it is ultimately up to the public health professionals in the US government to make that determination,' he said.

'We have heard very clearly, the desire of our friends in Europe and in the UK, to be able to reopen travel across the Atlantic. And we want to see that happen. But we have to follow the science and we have to follow the guidance of our public health professionals so we're actively engaging with them to determine the timeframe, and I can't give him a date today but I will tell you that we recognize the concern and we are fundamentally being guided by objective analysis,' he added.

Afterward the meeting with Johnson, Biden will attend the G7 summit, where he will hold bilateral meetings with fellow G7 leaders. The G7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.

After his meeting with The Queen, Biden will travel to Brussels, Belgium, to participate in in a NATO meeting and an EU Summit.

Security fences have also been set up around the Villa La Grane in Geneva, Switzerland, which is slated to be the destination of Biden's summit with Putin

The American Oxford student, 25, who attended elite Sidwell school with Malia Obama, who removed 'unwelcoming' portrait of the Queen from common room because she represents 'recent colonial history' 

A 25-year-old Stanford graduate who attended the prestigious DC school Sidwell Friends and is the son of a top commercial lawyer has enraged British politicians and sparked a free speech row in the UK by removing a portrait of the Queen from the students' room at the Oxford college where he is now getting his PhD.

Matthew Katzman grew up in privilege in Bethesda, Maryland, a rich suburb of DC where he attended Sidwell Friends, a $48,000-a-year school where the Obama daughters, the Biden grandchildren and countless other politicians' kids have studied. After graduating from Sidwell in 2014, he studied math and theoretical computer science at Stanford, where a four-year undergraduate degree costs $295,000. He graduated in 2018.

Now, he is getting a PhD in computer science at Oxford, the historic university attended by British Prime Ministers. The four-year DPhil course he is enrolled in is $38,800-a-year. In total, his education costs $640,000.

This week, he sparked fury by removing a portrait of the Queen from the common room at Magdalen College, in his role as president of Magdalen's Middle Common Room, an organization of around 200 graduate students. 

They decided between them that the portrait was 'unwelcoming' and represents 'recent colonial history'. They're going to replace it with 'art by or of other influential and inspirational people'.

The decision has been blasted as 'absurd' by British politicians who say the young students ought to 'show some respect' for the 95-year-old Monarch. 

British Education Secretary Gavin Williamson tweeted: 'Oxford University students removing a picture of the Queen is simply absurd. She is the Head of State and a symbol of what is best about the UK. During her long reign she has worked tirelessly to promote British values of tolerance, inclusivity & respect around the world.' 

Katzman is the son of Scott and Sandy Katzman, both 65. His father is a partner at the commercial law firm Steptoe & Johnson. The family lives in a sprawling, $4million home in Bethesda.  They have not yet commented on the row their son has unapologetically caused. 

 Matthew Katzman, 25, has sparked fury in the UK by removing a portrait of the Queen from the students' room at his Oxford college because he and other students think it's 'unwelcoming'. The PhD student is the son of Sandy and Scott Katzman (shown with him right, on his graduation day at Stanford in 2018). They haven't commented on the row their son has caused

Katzman has defended his position, telling DailyMail.com on Wednesday the removal of the portrait 'did not equate to a statement on the Queen'. He said instead it was being taken down to create 'a welcoming, neutral place for all members regardless of background, demographic, or views'.    

Members of the Middle Common Room at Magdalen College - which is made up of graduates - overwhelmingly backed the removal of a portrait of the Queen (pictured is a likeness of the photographic print) 

'The Magdalen College MCR yesterday [Monday] voted to remove an inexpensive print of the queen that was hung in the common room a few years ago (a motion I brought forward in my role as MCR President as I do all motions raised in a sub-committee). 

'It is being stored securely and will remain in the MCR's art collection. 

'The action was taken after a discussion of the purpose of such a space, and it was decided that the room should be a welcoming, neutral place for all members regardless of background, demographic, or views. 

'The Royal Family is on display in many areas of the college, and it was ultimately agreed that it was an unnecessary addition to the common room. 

'The views of the MCR do not reflect the views of Magdalen College, and the aesthetic decisions made by the voting members of its committee do not equate to a statement on the Queen. 

'Indeed, no stance was taken on the Queen or the Royal Family – the conclusion was simply that there were better places for this print to be hung.' 

Magdalen has indicated it will not attempt to reverse the decision, despite its long association with royalty. This includes visits from the Queen in 1948 to receive an Honorary Degree and again in 2008 to mark the college's 550th anniversary. 

The print was bought and put up by a previous group of students in 2008, and shows the monarch in a white gown and blue sash. It is based on a 1952 photograph taken by Dorothy Wilding to mark her accession and coronation. 

 

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2021-06-09 12:22:14Z
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