Von der Leyen fuels EU vaccine spat
Ursula von der Leyen over the weekend threatened AstraZeneca with export bans if the company doesn’t fulfil its contract with the EU, adding that the vaccine manufacturer had delivered only around 30% of its original target. Delivery delays from the continent to the UK could set back that country’s vaccine roll-out by months. Von der Leyen speaking to a German media group said the EU at the moment was also not ready to share vaccine doses with poorer countries but would continue supporting the Covax programme financially. Sources: Politico, DW, Euronews, FT, The Guardian.
Med 5 call for EU migrant action
Ministers from Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain met over the weekend to discuss migration flows to the EU. The Med 5 group said EU member countries should share the burden of migration more equitably. They urged more cooperation with origin and transit countries, and a centrally managed returns system. An overhaul of EU migration and asylum policy has been under discussion since last year but has yet to be agreed by EU leaders. Sources: Euronews, DW, The Guardian.
Slovak PM ready to resign
Slovakia’s prime minister, Igor Matovic, on Sunday said he was prepared to step down over a coalition crisis that has come to a head, provided he would retain a position in cabinet. Matovic earlier this month ordered Sputnik V vaccine doses from Russia without consent from his coalition partners. Matovic had jokingly offered to pay Russia for the vaccine with parts of Ukraine bordering Slovakia. He later apologized for the comments. Sources: FT, Reuters, DW.
Thousands evacuate in Australia floods
Extreme rain has been wreaking havoc in New South Wales, Australia, causing significant flooding along the coast. Around 18,000 residents of low-lying areas have been ordered to evacuate. Sydney’s main water supply, the Warragamba Dam, began overflowing on Saturday, damaging hundreds of houses and forcing thousands to flee their homes in the Greater Sydney area. Sources: ABC, The Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald.
Turkish lira tumbles
Turkey’s currency plunged by as much as 14% after president Recep Tayyip Erdogan fired his central bank chief. The decision to remove Naci Agbal, who had helped return the lira from historic lows, shocked investors. The sacking is reportedly tied to Agbal’s policy of high interest rates. He has been replaced with Sahap Kavcioglu who advocates low interest rates, also favoured by Erdogan. Sources: FT, Reuters, Bloomberg.
Pentagon chief in Kabul
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin visited Afghanistan on Sunday as part of a review under the Biden administration of the withdrawal of US troops from the country. The agreement to pull out by 1 May 2021 was made under president Donald Trump, but the Afghanistan government and the Taliban have yet to agree a peace deal and violent attacks continue. Sources: NPR, AP, New York Times, Washington Post.
Trump to return with own social media platform
Former US president Donald Trump is planning to return to social media with his own platform, advisor Jason Miller said on Sunday. Trump was banned on Twitter over inciting a mob to storm the US Capitol in January. Miller said Trump would be back on social media in two to three months in what he called “the hottest ticket in social media.” Sources: The Guardian, Fox News, Forbes.
Déi Gréng re-elect party leadership
Luxembourg’s Green party on Saturday during a virtual general meeting re-elected Meris Sehovic and Djuna Bernard as co-presidents. Bernard first became co-president in March 2019, serving alongside Christian Kmiotek who was replaced by Sehovic in 2020. A male-female leadership duo is a long-standing tradition for déi Gréng. Source: Wort, Tageblatt.
LSAP moots lower income tax
The Social Democrats over the weekend also held a virtual party conference where deputy prime minister Dan Kersch said taxes paid on income should be lower whereas taxes levied on property transactions, dividends and stocks should be higher. A review of ministerial posts was postponed until next year when the party hopes to hold its annual congress in person. Sources: Wort, RTL.
Latest Luxembourg covid-19 update
Health authorities over the weekend reported 461 new coronavirus infections, out of 20,390 tests carried out on Friday and Saturday. Four more people died after testing positive for Sars-CoV-2, bringing the pandemic death toll to 718. On Saturday, 121 people were being treated in hospital, including 20 patients in intensive care. Source: Health ministry.
Researchers investigate vaccine blood clot link
Researchers in Germany and Norway have been investigating the potential link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and a rare type of blood clot, saying they believe the vaccine in isolated cases causes a specific, treatable immune response that leads to thrombosis. The European Medicines Agency last week had said EU countries should use the AstraZeneca vaccine and that it does not increase overall clotting risk although a possible link to a specific, rare type of clot should be examined further. Sources: NPR, Reuters, DW, Deutschlandfunk.
Prison infection isolated, Schrassig director says
After the first case of coronavirus was diagnosed at the prison in Schrassig on Friday, subsequent tests of other inmates in the same block have been negative, according to director Serge Legil. The patient is being treated in hospital. His two cellmates have been quarantined and the rest of the block was tested for the virus. Sources: Wort, RTL.
Birtrange castle buyer revealed
After bids closed to buy Birtrange castle, near Colmar-Berg, last week, Luxembourg entrepreneur Jos Bourg has revealed he made the winning offer. Bourg in the 1970s founded real estate development company Stugalux. Speaking to local media he said he plans to renovate the castle and live in it. The starting price for offers was €5.2m. Bourg did not reveal the amount of his bid. Sources: RTL, L’essentiel.
Feminist pioneer Nawal El Saadawi dead aged 89
Egyptian author and activist Nawal El Saadawi has died aged 89. Saadawi, a doctor, campaigned against female genital mutilation and founded the Arab Women’s Solidarity Association. “I speak loudly because I am angry,” she said in a 2018 interview. Many of her works were banned, and she was persecuted and imprisoned in Egypt for her writings. Sources: BBC, CNN, New York Times.
UK royals to launch diversity review
Following a bombshell interview by Prince Harry and The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, with Oprah Winfrey during which they made claims of racism against the UK royal family, “the firm” is considering hiring a diversity tsar. A diversity review at Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace will also address LGBT+ and disability representation. Sources: BBC, The Guardian, Forbes.
Today’s morning briefing was written by Cordula Schnuer