HOUSE DEMOCRATS USE RALLY FOOTAGE TO ARGUE INCITEMENT IN TRUMP IMPEACHMENT

TRIAL

Senators on both sides of the aisle were visibly affected by graphic and

explicit new footage showing first-person perspective of the deadly Jan. 6

Capitol riot, as House impeachment managers continue to make their case for

convicting former President Donald Trump for inciting a mob.

"It was really horrifying what happened. You know, I think the House team

really put forth a very strong connecting of the dots. I don't see how you

can watch any of this and listen to their presentation and not conclude that

Trump bears tremendous responsibility for what happened," Sen. Mazie Hirono,

D-Hawaii, told reporters.

"You cannot help but be terribly affected by what happened here," she said.

Democrats spent Wednesday's arguments unveiling new footage from the deadly

riots, including police body camera footage, to highlight the extent to

which insurrectionists damaged the Capitol and threatened the lives of law

enforcement officers and members of Congress.

Those in favor of impeachment say that in the weeks leading up to and

immediately preceding the riot, Trump riled up his supporters and incited

them to storm the Capitol.

Unreleased security footage also showed how close rioters came to US

lawmakers.

Police inside were shown desperately ushering politicians to safety,

sometimes within yards of rioters breaking their way into the building's

chambers.

In frenzied audio, security officials were heard asking for support and

telling how crowds were using weapons like bats and tear gas against them.

Delegate Stacey Plaskett, presenting evidence, argued that the former

president had "deliberately encouraged" the violence and "put a target on

the backs" of senior figures, including his own Vice-President Mike Pence.

Five people died, including a Capitol police officer, as a mob breached the

building where the election result was being certified.

Trump's lawyers will present the case for the defence later this week, but

have already argued the trial against him is politically motivated and

unconstitutional.

To impeach Trump, the Senate needs 67 votes. Democrats need the support of

at least another 11 Republicans to do that. Given the current situation that

seems to be unlikely, political analysts said.

BIDEN RAISES CONCERNS WITH CHINA’S XI IN FIRST CALL SINCE ELECTION

US President Joe Biden had a first phone conversation with his Chinese

counterpart Xi Jinping yesterday, in a goodwill gesture to begin the process

of reshaping China-US relations after four years of drastic deterioration.

The call, held on the eve of the Lunar New Year, revealed the gulf of

tensions lingering between the major powers, as Biden pressed Xi on issues

of trade, human rights and the Indo-Pacific region. Xi pushed back,

describing Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang as China’s “internal affairs”, and

called for the resumption of dialogue between the countries, according to

statements from both sides.

“Cooperation is the only correct choice for the two nations. Cooperation can

help the two nations and the world to accomplish big things, while

confrontation is definitely a disaster,” Xi was quoted as saying by

state-run news agency Xinhua.

“China and US will have different views on certain issues, and it is

important for them to treat each other with respect and equally, and

properly manage the differences in constructive manner,” he added.

Xi said a resumption of dialogue was needed to avoid misjudgments and to

differentiate those disputes which could be contained. He called on

Washington to be cautious in its handling of issues related to China’s

sovereignty.

The White House statement said Biden shared his greetings and well wishes

with the Chinese people on the occasion of the Lunar New Year. He also

“affirmed his priorities of protecting the American people’s security,

prosperity, health, and way of life, and preserving a free and open

Indo-Pacific”.

The White House said Biden had “underscored his fundamental concerns about

Beijing’s coercive and unfair economic practices, crackdown in Hong Kong,

human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and increasingly assertive actions in the

region, including toward Taiwan”.

The two leaders exchanged views on countering the Covid-19 pandemic, as well

as the shared challenges of global health security and climate change.

MYANMAR COUP: US ANNOUNCES SANCTIONS ON LEADERS

US President Joe Biden has approved an executive order to impose sanctions

on the leaders of Myanmar's coup.

The measures will be focused on military leaders, their family members and

businesses linked to them.

Steps are also being taken to block access by the military to $1bn (£720m)

of government funds held in the US.

The sanctions come as a woman who was shot in the head during protests

against the coup fights for her life at a hospital in the capital Nay Pyi

Taw.

Mr Biden called for the coup to be reversed and for the release of civilian

leaders including Ms Suu Kyi.

"The people of Burma are making their voices heard and the world is

watching," he said, vowing to take further action if needed.

"As protests grow, violence against those exerting their democratic rights

is unacceptable and we're going to keep calling it out," he added.

He said his administration would identify a first round of targets of the

sanctions this week, although some Myanmar military leaders have already

been blacklisted over atrocities against Rohingya Muslims.

"We're also going to impose strong exports controls. We're freezing US

assets that benefit the Burmese government, while maintaining our support

for health care, civil society groups, and other areas that benefit the

people of Burma directly," he said.

This is Mr Biden's first use of sanctions since he took office last month.

PAKISTAN SUPREME COURT BARS EXECUTION OF INMATES WITH MENTAL DISORDER

Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday barred the execution of inmates

suffering from mental disorder, observing that carrying out the death

sentence does not “meet the ends of justice” if a convict was unable to

comprehend the rationale behind the punishment.

A five-member Bench headed by Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik passed the order

on the appeals of mentally ill death-row prisoners – Kanizan Bibi, Imdad Ali

and Ghulam Abbas – who have respectively served 30, 18 and 14 years on the

death row.

The petitioners, who showed symptoms of mental illness, demanded that their

sentence be commuted.

The court commuted the death sentences of Kanizan Bibi and Imdad Ali to life

imprisonment and directed that a fresh mercy petition be filed to the

Pakistan President on behalf of Ghulam Abbas.

The court observed that carrying out the death sentence does not “meet the

ends of justice” if a convict was unable to comprehend the rationale behind

the punishment due to a mental illness.

It also ordered the Punjab government to shift the accused from prison to

the Punjab Institute of Mental Health, Lahore, for treatment and

rehabilitation.

However, the Bench in the judgment clarified that not every mental illness

shall automatically qualify for an exemption from carrying out the death

sentence.

SINGAPORE AIRLINES BEGINS FLIGHTS WITH FULLY VACCINATED CREW

Singapore Airlines (SIA) began operating flights on Thursday with full sets

of crew members vaccinated against Covid-19 as the city-state seeks to

rejuvenate its status as an international travel hub.

The airline said pilots and cabin crew on three international flights from

Singapore had received both of the required doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech

vaccine.

The Singapore government has urged workers at the national airline to sign

up for its inoculation program in a bid to make SIA the world's first

carrier with all staff vaccinated against Covid-19.

Singapore Airlines said Thursday's three flights with a fully vaccinated

crew - to Jakarta, Bangkok and Phnom Penh - were among the first in the

world.

The carrier said more than 90% of its cabin crew and pilots have signed up

for the vaccine. Around 85% of those have received at least the first dose,

and many have begun getting the second dose, it added. SIA expects all those

who have signed up to receive the second dose by the end of March.

Singapore, a major international trade and travel hub, lacks a domestic

travel market and international travel is expected to take until 2024 to

rebound to 2019 levels, according to industry estimates.

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways said on Wednesday that its flights were only

being operated by pilots and cabin crew who had been vaccinated, which a

spokeswoman later said meant had received at least one dose.

SOUTH AFRICA SCRAPS ASTRAZENECA VACCINE, WILL GIVE J&J JABS

South Africa will give the unapproved Johnson & Johnson vaccine to its

front-line health care workers beginning next week as a study to see what

protection it provides from Covid-19, particularly against the variant

dominant in South Africa, the health minister announced Wednesday.

Zweli Mkhize said South Africa has scrapped plans to use the

Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine because it “does not prevent mild to moderate

disease” of the variant that has spread widely in South Africa.

The one-shot J&J vaccine is still being tested internationally and has not

been approved in any country.

But Mkhize, in a nationally broadcast address, declared that the vaccine is

safe, relying on tests of 44,000 people done in South Africa, the United

States and Latin America.

The J&J vaccines will be used to launch the first phase of South Africa's

vaccination drive in which the country's 1.25 million health care workers

will be inoculated, he said, adding the medical workers will be closely

monitored to see what protection they get from the inoculation.

“The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been proven effective against the 501Y.V2

variant (dominant in South Africa) and the necessary approval processes for

use in South Africa are underway,” said Mkhize.

POWERFUL UNDERSEA QUAKE HITS NORTH OF NEW ZEALAND

A powerful undersea earthquake struck north of New Zealand on Wednesday

evening, prompting tsunami warnings in parts of the region.

The US Geological Agency said the magnitude 7.7 quake was centered at a

depth of 10 km (six miles) southeast of the Loyalty Islands. The shaking was

not expected to cause significant damage or fatalities on land.

The US Tsunami Warning Center issued warnings of possible tsunami waves

ranging from 0.3 to 1 metre (1 to 3.3 feet) for Vanuatu and Fiji. A tsunami

watch was issued and then cancelled for American Samoa.

Australia cancelled a marine tsunami warning it had issued for residents of

Lord Howe Island, a marine reserve more than700 kilometres northeast of

Sydney. There was no threat to the mainland, it said.

The region is prone to earthquakes because it sits along the Pacific “Ring

of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the ocean.