EUROPE - Europe is now trading more goods with China than the United States, a sign of how the pandemic is transforming the global economy. Data released this week by the European Union's statistics service attributed the shift to a 5.6% increase in imports from China in 2020 and a 2.2% increase in exports. Meanwhile, there was a "significant drop" in trade with the United States, with imports plunging 13.2% and exports falling 8.2%. The overall value of EU-China goods trade last year was €586 billion ($706 billion), about €31 billion ($37 billion) more than between the European Union and the United States. China's economy expanded 2.3% last year as it raced to recover from the pandemic, while the United States saw output shrink 3.5%. That allowed China, the world's second largest economy, to increase its clout.

USA - The Biden Administration has decided to bring the US back into the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), first as an observer until the end of the year, and presumably as a member beginning in 2022. Secretary of State Blinken explained: "The best way to improve the Council, so it can achieve its potential, is through robust and principled US leadership."

IRAN - Iran’s Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi warned in a television interview on February 10, 2021, that Iran might be drawn into a military nuclear program. “Iran’s nuclear program is for peaceful purposes … and considers it a prohibited weapon. But I must make it clear that if a cat is pushed into the corner, it may behave differently from a cat that walks freely. If Iran is pushed into a corner, it will not be its fault [implying the production of nuclear weapons] but rather the fault of those pushing it.” Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard, wrote that the minister had made “a major blunder” and his comments “are very wrong in itself, do not reflect the policies of the Islamic Republic, contradict the declarations of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution, and may have serious consequences for the state.” The remarks made by the Iranian Intelligence Minister reflect internal power struggles within the Iranian security and intelligence apparatuses after a series of assassinations of Iranian scientists and the sabotage of sensitive nuclear facilities in Iran.

ISRAEL - The Israel Lands Authority last month awarded contracts to several building companies to begin marketing 1,257 new housing units in Jerusalem's southern neighborhood of Givat Hamatos. It's the first stage of a 2,600-unit subsidized housing project targeting young families to encourage them to remain in the Israeli capital, where there is a housing shortage and high prices. At the same time, the master plan calls for the construction of 700 units for the nearby Arab area of Beit Safafa. Givat Hamatos is bordered by several of Jerusalem's largest neighborhoods, including Gilo to the south and Har Homa to the east. The EU has dubbed the project an "illegal settlement." Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Fleur Hassan-Nahoum responded, "Givat Hamatos doesn't change anything; it simply supplies demands of building and growth. The fact that the EU doesn't accept the reality that Jerusalem is the undivided capital of Israel shows that they are living in an alternative universe."

GERMANY - The coronavirus pandemic can only be considered beaten once everyone in the world has been immunized against Covid-19, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel said, after she'd met with the G7 leaders at a virtual summit on Friday. Speaking to reporters, Merkel said she had stressed in her remarks to the group that the "pandemic is not over until all people in the world have been vaccinated," adding: "Everyone must participate." "The [coronavirus] pandemic in particular has shown how much we are diverging from one another, worldwide." On Friday the head of the EU's executive body, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the bloc would put up €100 million ($121 million) to fund the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in Africa. The current global divide over access to jabs means that some poorer countries are still without Covid-19 vaccines, while others, including Canada, the UK, US, Australia and those in the EU have ordered more doses than they technically require.

USA - The United States is approaching a grim milestone — the impending moment when half a million Americans will have lost their lives to the coronavirus. It’s a staggering number that’s painful to think about, and even harder to picture. Research into our evolution shows that the human brain is not inherently wired to make sense of large numbers; other studies show that people also have become adept at suppressing trauma to cope with grief. In 2020, the US saw a more than 15 percent increase in deaths over the prior year, the highest year-on-year rise in deaths across the US since 1918, which experienced both a global flu epidemic and the First World War. The colossal death toll forces us to confront a distressing, ever growing number that has affected some groups more than others. Most of the dead have been Americans 65 and over. People of color are also dying at disproportionate rates: Deaths among Black Americans are 1.9 times higher than among non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics and Latinos 2.3 times higher, and Native Americans 2.4 times higher. The deadly sum of it all is hard to fathom.

ISRAEL - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the phone with US President Joe Biden Tuesday for the first time since the president took office four weeks ago. Netanyahu was the first Middle Eastern leader to receive a call from Biden, but the 12th world leader overall. The long weeks of silence since Biden took office had led many to wonder whether the White House was snubbing its longtime ally, given Netanyahu’s frosty relationship with former Democratic president Barack Obama and his overwhelmingly warm ties with the more recent Donald Trump. The conversation was “very friendly and warm and lasted about an hour,” the Prime Minister’s Office said. The White House did not immediately comment on the call. Asked about the call by reporters in the Oval Office, Biden said it was a “good conversation” without elaborating further. A later White House readout said Biden “affirmed his personal history of steadfast commitment to Israel’s security and conveyed his intent to strengthen all aspects of the US-Israel partnership, including our strong defense cooperation.”

SINGAPORE - A critical shortage of containers is driving up shipping costs and delays for goods purchased from China. The pandemic and uneven global economic recovery has led to this problem cropping up in Asia, although other parts of the world have also been hit. Industry watchers said desperate companies wait weeks for containers and pay premium rates to get them, causing shipping costs to skyrocket.

EUROPE - US media provides little news of Europe. What is provided is strictly “narrated.” Consequently, Americans are unaware of what seems to be a spontaneous, leaderless, popular uprising against mandated lockdowns and masks. There are large demonstrations in Germany, and they have spread to Vienna and to Copenhagen. The people have more sense than the public authorities and reject the Covid mandates. In The Netherlands, the Hague Court has ruled that the Covid curfew has no legal basis and “is a far-reaching violation of the right to freedom of movement and privacy and limits, among other things, the right to freedom of assembly and demonstration.”

USA - The White House on Tuesday walked back Joe Biden's push for gun control legislation, calling it the president's 'personal' priority but saying there is no package ready for Congress. 'He is not afraid of standing up to the NRA. He has done it multiple times,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki said of Biden. But, she noted, there is no timeline of changing gun laws. 'It is a priority to him on a personal level, but I don't have a, a prediction for you, or a preview for you on a timeline of a package, and certainly not what it will look like and how it goes through Congress,' she added at her daily press briefing. On Sunday, Biden used the three year anniversary of the Parkland shooting in Florida to call on Congress to strengthen gun laws, including requiring background checks on all gun sales and banning assault weapons.

USA - A Gallup study released on Monday shows American support for a third political party is at an all-time high. Elected Republicans and Democrats beware: According to a new study by Gallup, voters believe “parties do such a poor job representing the American people that a third party is needed.” In fact, just 33 percent of Americans believe the current political representatives are doing even an “adequate” job serving their most essential purpose. In an additional record, 50 percent of those polled call themselves independent voters, as opposed to members of either side. Right now, the most likely third party would split conservatives between Trump loyalists and those who would rather someone else take the helm. As 2022 looms large for many seated politicians, the challenge of renewing support in either aisle will only become more urgent.

USA - In the latest Economist/YouGov survey, 36% of Republicans called Trump the best. Just 18% called Reagan that, followed by 13% for President Abraham Lincoln and 11% for President George Washington. The poll was conducted during Trump’s second Senate impeachment trial, during which seven Republicans voted to convict him, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who did not vote to impeach, blamed Trump for the Capitol riots. It is further evidence that Trump remains the leader of the Republican Party in the eyes of Republicans. Another survey this week found that 75% want Trump to have a “prominent role” in the GOP. In a blast at the “swamp” and establishment Republicans on Tuesday, Trump said that he will continue to speak out on GOP politics and will play a role in the 2022 elections.

EUROPE - The US used to hold almost absolute sway over the EU’s global politics. Now, on the issue of China, Europe is slipping from Washington’s grasp as it realizes it’s better off building that relationship on its own terms. Over 70 years ago, the United States forged the beginning of a new transatlantic order through the initiation of first, the Marshall Plan to rebuild the war-torn economies of Europe, and then secondly, the NATO alliance, framed as a protection from the perceived threat of the Soviet Union.

USA - Walmart has temporarily closed more than 500 stores as an unprecedented winter storm pelts much of the southern half of the US. According to a tracker on Walmart’s website, 501 stores are currently shut down, from Texas to Kentucky, due to Winter Storm Uri, which has dumped snow and ice and caused frigid temperatures in the South since last week. Many of the Walmart closures are concentrated in Texas, which has been battered by a winter storm that hit the region last Thursday. Icy conditions caused a 130-car pile-up on a highway near Fort Worth, leaving six people dead and over 60 injured. In response to the severe weather, Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration on Friday for all 254 counties in Texas. On Sunday, President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in Texas, ordering that federal aid be sent to the region.

USA - The Biden administration and Democrats in Congress will unveil an immigration reform bill later this week that is expected to include a pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants, NBC News reported. The “US Citizenship Act of 2021” will include the immigration commitments that Biden released when he first took office, according to NBC News. The president’s proposal provides a pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants, expands the refugee resettlement program and adds unspecified new technology to the US-Mexico southern border.