The Winter Olympics are now underway and the FBI has been telling athletes heading to Beijing to bring a burner phone. There are all kinds of digital threats to the Olympics.
Reverses Trump’s decision to rescind waivers related to Tehran’s civilian nuclear activities
Washington has allowed foreign companies to engage in some civilian projects at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power station, Tehran Research Reactor and Arak heavy water plant, in an apparent bid to push forward negotiations to restore the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“The waiver with respect to these activities is designed to facilitate discussions that would help to close a deal on a mutual return to full implementation of the JCPOA and lay the groundwork for Iran’s return to performance of its JCPOA commitments,” the State Department said in a notice to Congress seen by the Associated Press on Friday.
As part of the JCPOA, Tehran agreed in 2015 to strict oversight of its nuclear energy program – maintaining that it never sought to obtain atomic weapons – in exchange for relief from sanctions imposed by the UN at the US’ urging. Former US President Donald Trump, however, decided that the deal was not good enough and unilaterally reimposed those sanctions in 2018. Some waivers granted at the time were later rescinded in 2020 as part of Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign.
Upon taking office in January 2021, US President Joe Biden said he was open to returning to the JCPOA if Iran came back into compliance. Tehran responded that Washington needs to come into compliance first, starting with the removal of sanctions.
“If the parties are ready to lift sanctions, the ground for reaching an agreement on nuclear issues is absolutely ready,” President Ebrahim Raisi told RT in an exclusive interview last month.
The State Department, however, emphasized that the sanctions relief serves “US nonproliferation and nuclear safety interests” and should not be seen as a “commitment or as part of a quid pro quo.”
KATHMANDU, Feb 04 (IPS) – As the omicron wave of Covid-19 rose ominously in Nepal recently, to entice more people to get tested the government reduced the cost of PCR tests from 1,000 rupees ($8.37) to 800 rupees ($6.70) in government facilities and about double that in private ones.
While France is a major player in NATO, President Macron has also been actively pushing for dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two are set to meet Monday one-on-one.
(Image credit: Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
The EU has marked World Cancer Day with a pledge to address “disparities and inequalities between member states”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that 100 million cancer screening tests weren’t carried out due to the impact of the Covid pandemic on health services, delaying diagnoses and referrals for treatment across the continent.
“This means that an estimated one million cases could right now be undiagnosed in Europe,” the European Commission chief claimed.
Von der Leyen has announced the EU will launch a cancer inequality registry to address differing death rates across the bloc, as part of action to reduce the growing impact of the disease.
“It will identify trends, disparities and inequalities between member states and regions so that we can better target our support,” von der Leyen declared, as officials predict cancer fatalities could rise up to a third by 2040.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified cancer as one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the European region, accounting for more than 20% of all deaths. In 2020, 2.7 million people were diagnosed with cancer across the EU, while 1.3 million died from the disease.
Speaking ahead of World Cancer Day, WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr. Hans Kluge claimed cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment “suffered in an unprecedented way as health services have struggled to respond to COVID-19.”
Citing official data across the European region from the past two years, Kluge highlighted how the diagnosis of invasive tumors fell by 44% in Belgium, colorectal screenings declined by 46% in Italy, and cancer diagnoses were 34% lower than expected in Spain.
To mark World Cancer Day, the WHO has committed to implementing cost-effective and evidence-based policies that will allow them to fast track the elimination of cancer as a life-threatening illness in Europe and Asia.
