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US vice president Kamala Harris sends a message to Guatemalan migrants in her visit to Guatemala City, telling them not to come to the US. Biden administration policy is not to have migrants from Guatemala come to the US border with Mexico for economic reasons. Europe and the US have learned from past experience that economic migration is an endless process- that the only way to tackle this is to help improve conditions in neighboring countries of Central America and North Africa.

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From now on the vaccination program in India will be run nationally by the federal government. This will ensure fair access to vaccines to all parts of the Indian population. Earlier vaccine costs were bid up as states and private hospitals bid up prices. Under the new national program 75% of vaccines will be given out by the federal government and 25%  by private hospitals and other private health institutions. The government in New Delhi under prime minister Modi will offer adults free vaccinations. Modi said "We will increase the speed of procuring vaccines and also increase the pace of the vaccination program." Even in private hospitals the cost of vaccine will be kept at Rupees 150 or $2.06. Experts say this is the right policy and the government has learned from errors in letting states and other private institutions run vaccine policy, which made it too fragmented and subject to too many variables, resulting in inequity, and slowing vaccination drives. The Supreme Court stepped in asking for clarity, leading to the clear policy from the federal government announced today.  Advantage of the new policy is that the responsibility lies in one place, and the federal government also has the clout to make things happen, to negotiate with companies and other parties involved effectively. India has vaccinated 222 million people but because of the population being so large at 1.2 billion this comes out to be a small fraction of the population. This puts the task of getting vaccine supplies and getting the vaccination drives to work in the only place that has the determination and the resources to deliver results by vaccinating 1.2 billion people by December 2021. It has never been done before in history says Mr. Modi, and it is a challenge that India is now taking up for itself and for the global community. It also lays the ground for India to help its neighbors in Asia and in Africa, Latin America in 2022.   ...

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The CDU gets 36% of the vote in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in east Germany. The FDP gets 7%. This was a result that surprised the CDU as the AfD party was polling well before the election, The result gives the ruling CDU party hope of doing better in east Germany where it had lost votes to the right wing AfD party. This was a crucial election ahead of German elections for a new government to replace Merkel. The Greens are polling well nationally.

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The huge losses at Credit Suisse after the collapse of Archegos Capital Management. One more instance of misallocation of funds in the way capital markets are functioning today at the expense of much needed infrastructure health and other needs of countries in Europe.

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The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory May 2020 study cited here in the WSJ, was conducted to find how the coronavirus originated. This US government lab based in California has considerable experience on biological issues and looked at the genetic makeup of the coronavirus. It concluded that a lab accident was plausible, says this report in the WSJ. 

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This report in FR24 says the UK reopening by June 21 is at risk as the new delta variant is leading to a rise in covid cases. Covid is growing at 3% a day, with the R ratio at between 1.0 and 1.2 for the second week in a row, says the UK Health Ministry. With new more contagious variants what looks cautiously optimistic in one week can look very different in a 2-3 week period after that especially as complacency creeps in and essential protocols are neglected.

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Doctors Without Borders grew out of the dreams of a few newly qualified French doctors to help those in need in conflict areas around the world. This story in FR24 looks at 50 years of the medical organization that has served the world so well in many conflicts.

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US EU relations are on a better track with president Biden, yet tough talks on issues such as Russia and China, vaccines, climate change remain, and there is the uncertainty of new leadership in France and Germany with upcoming elections.

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How the US remains divided on something as basic as masks during the coronavirus wave. Here is the situation in one hard hit state- Michigan in the US midwest.

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Elections for 500 members of the lower house of parliament in Mexico and for 15 governorships. Lopez Obrador won the presidency in 2018 with a huge majority, 30 points ahead of the rivals from the PAN and PRI parties. Average of five recent polls show he is still popular after the pandemic and winning 40% of the vote followed by PRI at 18%, PAN at 17%.  Obrador has increased pensions for the elderly by using savings from other parts of the budget, and increased the minimum wage several times. He seeks to reverse a 2013 law that privatized parts of the oil and electricity sectors. Obrador plans a large refinery project and rail infrastructure projects if he wins a strong majority in the lower house, in addition to social spending that would help the informal economy which has suffered during the pandemic. Across LatinAmerica, in Peru and other places the shift is to social spending to support the informal sector and anticorruption efforts so that good governance supports infrastructure spending. ...