Daily Archives: March 1, 2021

2021-03-01: News Headlines

MEE staff (2021-03-01). Israel demolishes Palestinian family's home in Jerusalem for fourth time. middleeasteye.net Israel demolishes Palestinian family's home in Jerusalem for fourth time | Hatem Hussein Abu Rayaleh's house bulldozed on grounds of lacking building permits, as Israelis step up demolitions in occupied territories | Mon, 03/01/2021 – 16: 17 | Palestinian Hatem Hussein Abu Rayaleh points at his house which was demolished again by Israeli forces in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Issawiya, 1 March 2021 (AFP…

Nadda Osman (2021-03-01). Israel annexation: European lawmakers denounce 'de facto' takeover of the West Bank. middleeasteye.net Israel annexation: European lawmakers denounce 'de facto' takeover of the West Bank | Over 400 parliamentarians have called on EU nations and the Biden administration to work together to halt annexation | Mon, 03/01/2021 – 13: 04 | Israeli workers dismantle tents during a demolition operation of a Palestinian Bedouin encampment in the area of Humsa, in the Occupied West Bank on 22 February (AFP) | Hundre…

Staff (2021-03-01). 'Zionist' is not hate speech, activists say. therealnews.com A Saturday Night Live joke about Israel's vaccine apartheid sparked outrage from some ardent supporters of the Israeli government, but the controversy speaks to larger threats to free speech in the digital age, especially when it comes to criticisms of Zionism. At this very moment, tech giant Facebook is considering whether or not to respond to calls to ban the term "Zionist" as anti-Semitic hate speech. | TRNN's Jaisal Noor speaks with Jewish Voice For Peace's Rabbi Alissa Wise about the "Facebook, We Need to Talk" campaign and the long history of tech companies censoring the voices of Palestinians who are…

David Hearst (2021-03-01). Avi Shlaim slams UK government over 'shameful legacy' of support for Israel. middleeasteye.net Avi Shlaim slams UK government over 'shameful legacy' of support for Israel | Oxford historian says efforts to push IHRA antisemitism definition on universities are part of a long history of support for Zionism | Mon, 03/01/2021 – 11: 59 | Shlaim has called for British universities to resist the threat to their autonomy posed by government's efforts to push them to adopt the IHRA definition (AFP) | An…

MEE staff (2021-03-01). US probes Israeli spyware firm NSO following WhatsApp lawsuit: Report. middleeasteye.net US probes Israeli spyware firm NSO following WhatsApp lawsuit: Report | Justice Department reached out to WhatsApp over hacking of 1,400 of its users through NSO Group's spyware Pegasus, Guardian reports | Mon, 03/01/2021 – 16: 16 | NSO says it should benefit from "sovereign immunity" because it sells its software to unidentified sovereign government clients (AFP) | The US Department of Justice has renewed its…

Ragip Soylu (2021-03-01). Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict: Israeli defence system shot down Russian missile Yerevan fired at Baku. middleeasteye.net Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict: Israeli defence system shot down Russian missile Yerevan fired at Baku | Russia urged Yerevan to fire rocket at Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict's final days as Moscow pushed for a ceasefire | Mon, 03/01/2021 – 12: 30 | Russian officials give a presentation of the Iskander M missile at the 4th international military technical forum in August 2018 in Kubinka. (AFP) | Ar…

MEE staff (2021-03-01). Top US Senate Republicans warn Biden against reviving Iran deal. middleeasteye.net Top US Senate Republicans warn Biden against reviving Iran deal | Leading Republicans on national security-related committees urge White House to engage Congress, Israel and Gulf partners on Iran | Mon, 03/01/2021 – 17: 12 | The letter was signed by key Senate Republicans, including (L-R) Jim Risch, Marco Rubio and Jim Inhofe (AFP/File photos) | Top US Senate Republicans have warned President Joe Biden against…

sputniknews (2021-03-01). Israel's Ultra-Orthodox Community Seeks Integration, Despite Stigmas, Says Local Entrepreneur. sputniknews.com Not many Haredis, who make up some 12 percent of Israel's population, are engaged in the nation's workforce. Even fewer work in the hi-tech sector. Yet an entrepreneur who is a member of the Ultra-Orthodox community says most want to become integrated, but they don't want to be forced to change.

sputniknews (2021-03-01). 'A Terrific Day:' Israel Welcomes First-Ever UAE Ambassador. sputniknews.com The UAE and Israel signed a normalization agreement on August 13, 2020, officially referred to as the Abraham Accords. As a result, the UAE became the third Arab country after Egypt in 1997 and Jordan in 1994 to formally formalize its relationship with Israel.

sputniknews (2021-03-01). Israeli High Court Limits Shin Bet's Controversial Surveillance of COVID-19 Carriers. sputniknews.com In 2020, the Israeli government allowed the nation's Internal Security Agency (Shin Bet) to use cellphone data to retrace the movements of residents who contracted COVID-19, with the ultimate goal being to inform others who came in contact and ordering them to quarantine. The move was immediately slammed by rights-groups over privacy violations.

_____ (2021-03-01). Has Israel Been Out-foxed? strategic-culture.org Reactivating the JCPOA has drawn some A top Russian official, last weekend, said something which pinpoints the times we are living today. It may seem a throwaway remark, but behind it, just out of sight, lies something profound. He said that the JCPOA, (for very many, and not just for Iran), had become the prime symbol of how the rules-based global order is used precise…

Shir Hever (2021-03-01). Israeli Private Arms Export Is Too Terrible Even for Tel Aviv. globalresearch.ca At least 20 Israeli arms dealers have been arrested by Israel's …

MEE, agencies (2021-03-01). Iran says not behind blast on Israeli-owned ship. middleeasteye.net Iran says not behind blast on Israeli-owned ship | Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu has accused Tehran of attacking the ship in the Gulf of Oman last week | Mon, 03/01/2021 – 08: 01 | This picture taken on February 28, 2021 shows a view of the Israeli-owned Bahamian-flagged MV Helios Ray cargo ship docked in Dubai's Mina Rashid (Port Rashid) cruise terminal (AFP) | Iran strongly rejects I…

MEE, agencies (2021-03-01). Iran says it is not behind blast on Israeli-owned ship. middleeasteye.net Iran says it is not behind blast on Israeli-owned ship | Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu has accused Tehran of attacking the ship in the Gulf of Oman last week | Mon, 03/01/2021 – 08: 01 | The Israeli-owned Bahamian-flagged MV Helios Ray cargo ship docked in Dubai's Mina Rashid cruise terminal on 28 February (AFP) | Iran strongly rejects Israel's claim that Tehran was behind a blast aboa…

RT (2021-03-01). Virus reduces fitness of former Covid-19 patients aged 45 to level of 80-year-olds, Israeli researchers discover. rt.com One of Israel's top medical centers has published a worrying study about the long-term effects of the coronavirus, revealing that 45-year-old former patients performed during physical tests as if they were aged 80. | Some 30 people aged 45, on average, took part in the survey carried out by the Beilinson Medical Center in Petah Tikva, the Times of Israel Three months after they had been officially cleared of the disease, the former Covid-19…

RT (2021-03-01). Amman condemns Israeli authorities after orthodox Jews break into Al-Aqsa Mosque during Jewish festival. rt.com The Jordanian foreign ministry has blasted Israeli authorities after police failed to stop a group of orthodox Jews bursting into the Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam's holiest sites, in Jerusalem on Sunday. | Daifallah Al-Fayez, a spokesman from the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Expatriates, claimed the failure to prevent the breach represents a "stark violation" of a historic and legal status quo. | On Sunday, dozens of people, reportedly comprising Jewish settlers, broke into the holy site while celebrating the Jewish festival of Purim. Some of the intruders were seen dressed in colorful costumes, dri…

RT (2021-03-01). Tehran rejects Netanyahu's accusations over explosion of vessel in Gulf of Oman and is 'closely monitoring' Israeli actions. rt.com Tehran has dismissed claims made by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran was behind an attack on an Israeli merchant ship in the Gulf of Oman last Thursday, adding that security in the region is just as important for Iran. | "The Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman are Iran's immediate security areas," Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters on Monday, adding that Tehran would not allow these priorities to be undermined by Israeli accusations. | Khatibzadeh lambasted Israel for its "incorrect" claims that Iran was behind last Thursday's attack on the vessel. | Not only do we strongly reject…

RT (2021-03-01). Punch drunk: UFC star Paulo Costa mocked by fans over claim he 'drank too much wine' the night before Israel Adesanya title fight. rt.com Paulo Costa had a novel excuse for his unusually tepid performance in his world title bout against Israel Adesanya, earning derision for admitting that he was "hungover" from a full bottle of wine he had drunk hours beforehand. | Brazil's Costa surrendered his unbeaten professional record when he was beaten by middleweight champion Adesanya in Abu Dhabi last September, but more more disappointing than the result was the performance of the usually ferocious slugger. | Rather than hunting down his opponent as he had done in his previous 13 fights, Costa stayed at range and presented an easy target to the laser-s…

Chuck Collins — Omar Ocampo (2021-03-01). Financial Reserves and the Racial Wealth Gap. counterpunch.org Why is it that the wealthiest country on earth has the highest death toll of any nation in the world? And why are Black and Latino people among those experiencing the greatest mortality and hardship during the pandemic? There is excellent research on how the Black-white wealth gap left Black households more vulnerable (see resources

Staff (2021-03-01). Rep. Ro Khanna: Democrats Should Ignore the Senate Parliamentarian and Pass $15 Minimum Wage Hike. democracynow.org The House of Representatives has voted to pass President Biden's $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package that includes an increase to the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour, which could now be stripped out in the final bill after the unelected Senate parliamentarian found it does not comply with budget rules. Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have also said they'll oppose the measure. Congressmember Ro Khanna of California says the parliamentarian "misruled" in this case and that Democrats should pass the wage hike anyway. "I don't know any part of this count…

Staff (2021-03-01). After Mass Closures, Post-Pandemic Child Care Options Will Be Scarce. truthout.org Driving to work before dawn last winter, Valerie Norris heard an NPR report about a terrible disease spreading in China — a pandemic, people were starting to call it. It sounded sad but very far from Rocky River, Ohio, where she'd led the Rockport Early Childhood Center for 34 years. | A few weeks later, she knew better. | It was still dark on the chilly morning of March 13 when Norris pulled into the big parking lot at the Rockport United Methodist Church, where her school was based. She always…

Staff (2021-03-01). Illinois Must End Youth Incarceration, Not "Transform" It. truthout.org Even amid a deadly pandemic, in the U.S., there are

RT (2021-03-01). CYBERWAR is imminent & will affect ordinary Americans, claims CEO of company that 'discovered' SolarWinds hack. rt.com Cybersecurity firm FireEye has warned Americans that they'll be targeted by the next big cyberattack, whether they know it or not. Disrupted supply chains and the chaos of cellular and internet networks crashing will follow. | "The next conflict where the gloves come off in cyber, the American citizen will be dragged into it, whether they want to be or not. Period," FireEye CEO Kevin Mandia told Axios on HBO on Sunday. | "People don't even know all the things they depend on. All of a sudden the supply chain starts getting disrupted because computers don't work," he continued, threatening viewers with his descr…

RT (2021-03-01). Beijing accused of using Covid pandemic to control journalists — foreign media group report. rt.com The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China (FCCC) has accused Beijing of using Covid-19 as "yet another way to control journalists," curbing visas and surveilling reporters. China says it's protecting its citizens from the virus. | The FCCC, which is the professional association of Beijing-based journalists reporting on China, has argued that 2020 had seen a "rapid decline in media freedom," implemented under the cover of measures that were used to combat the spread of coronavirus. | In its annual report released on Monday the press group claimed these restrictions were placed on journalists to prevent them fro…

PAI (2021-03-01). Biden declares support for Alabama Amazon workers' union drive. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—Democratic President Joe Biden has officially backed the union organizing drive at the big Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala. In a two-minute-20-second video he posted on Twitter Feb. 28, and an accompanying shorter tweet, Biden declared the choice by the 5,800 workers there is "vitally important" to both them and the country. "Today and over …

Rayhan Uddin (2021-03-01). 'Disastrous decision': UK slashes aid to Yemen while approving arms sales to Saudi Arabia. middleeasteye.net 'Disastrous decision': UK slashes aid to Yemen while approving arms sales to Saudi Arabia | Politicians and non-governmental organisations condemn major humanitarian cut as military exports to Riyadh continue | Mon, 03/01/2021 – 17: 50 | A Yemeni civilian receives food aid in a displacement camp in northern district of Abs (AFP/File photo) | The UK will halve its foreign aid to Yemen in 2021, in a mov…

RT (2021-03-01). Syria & Russia accuse US of funneling supplies on pretext of 'humanitarian aid' to militants in war-ravaged Middle Eastern nation. rt.com Washington is pressuring the United Nations to deliver international assistance to an overpopulated desert refugee camp but secretly planning to use the cargo to resupply armed militias it supports, Moscow and Damascus claim. | In a joint statement issued on Monday, the coordination headquarters of Russia and Syria insisted that their military coalition is "making significant efforts to restore peaceful life in the country and provide comprehensive assistance to Syrian citizens in voluntary and safe return to their homeland." | However, they add, the US is actively working to fuel fighting in the bloody civil…

Editor (2021-03-02). Raise the minimum wage to $15 — at least! workers.org A $15-per-hour minimum wage cannot be included in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill proposed by Congressional Democrats. So ruled the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth McDonough, on Feb. 25. This unelected official called it "irrelevant to budget legislation." This edict is a brutal blow to millions of struggling workers. Nevertheless, the . . . |

Arturo Pineda (2021-03-01). New Haven youth target gun violence, inequality at Black history month march. peoplesworld.org NEW HAVEN, Conn.—A caravan of 20 cars and a group of 65 people took to the streets of New Haven on Feb. 20 to call for an end to gun violence and police brutality, taxing the rich, and to demand state and federal relief for communities of color impacted by COVID-19. The Annual Black History …

Betsey Piette (2021-03-02). Protest demands freedom for Mumia, suffering COVID symptoms. workers.org Political prisoner and Black journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal began experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, including difficulty breathing, Feb 26. Hearing this news, his family and supporters called a protest. Less than 24 hours later, about 70 people turned up outside the office of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner to call for Abu-Jamal's immediate . . . |

RT (2021-03-01). Finland declares STATE OF EMERGENCY over Covid-19 cases surge. rt.com Helsinki has declared a state of emergency on Monday in a bid to stem the rapid spread of coronavirus. The measure would allow it to impose a lockdown and potentially "restrict the fundamental rights of citizens." | The state of emergency is effective "immediately" and will stay in force for an indefinite period of time "until it is repealed," the government said in a

RT (2021-03-01). Prague deploys troops on Czech streets to enforce severe new Covid rules amid record infection rate, spike in hospitalizations. rt.com Some 30,000 police and soldiers have been deployed across the Czech Republic and at 500 security checkpoints set up in a bid to enforce toughened coronavirus rules, as the country battles the world's worst infection rate. | The new measures, introduced on Monday, ban Czechs from leaving their district except for essential reasons, like caring for vulnerable people or working. | Officers are allowed to conduct random spot checks and people are required to produce personal documentation on request, with fines of up to 20,000 Czech koruna ($920) for rule-breakers. | Higher-grade face masks are also now mandatory…

RT (2021-03-01). Covid-19 virus didn't originate naturally but is actually a BIOWEAPON, most Russians believe, according to explosive new poll. rt.com The world has been savaged by a killer virus that escaped a top-secret lab or was unleashed by shadowy forces. It might sound like the plot of a Hollywood film, but a new poll has found it's also how most Russians see Covid-19.

RT (2021-03-01). Family with young child rescued, warned after camping on CLIFF EDGE known for landslides (PHOTO). rt.com Police and coastguard officers responded to a call after a couple were spotted camping on a cliff edge with their young child, in contravention of lockdown rules and, arguably, common sense. | Rescue teams from Staithes and Whitby coastguard agencies, along with responding police officers, happened upon the couple's tent on Cleveland Way in North Yorkshire on Saturday. | www.facebook.com/staithes.coastguard/posts/1857131324439338 | The police were called as the family had breached Covid restrictions, though it is unclear whether or not they received a fine. Overnight stays away from a person's primary…

RT (2021-03-01). Progressives make last push for $15 minimum wage as relief bill heads to Senate. rt.com Progressive Democrats have made a desperate call asking the Biden administration to overturn a Senate rule keeping a minimum-wage raise out of the upcoming Covid-19 relief bill. But Biden is unlikely to listen. | Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough

RT (2021-03-01). School shooting reported on FIRST DAY back in the classroom in Arkansas. rt.com Students were back in the classroom for less than a day in one Arkansas high school before a shooting broke out. One student was reported injured and the underage suspect has been taken into custody. | The state of Arkansas last week ordered schools to reopen, as the threat of Covid-19 subsides. Watson Chapel Junior High in the town of Pine Bluff opened its doors to in-person learning on Monday, but any sense of normality was soon shattered when a shooting erupted. |

| One student was injured, and police took the suspect into custody. The Watson Chapel School District described the shooting a…

RT (2021-03-01). Fauci brushes off critique after South Dakota Governor Noem says Biden's Covid czar 'IS WRONG A LOT' to standing ovation at CPAC. rt.com White House adviser Anthony Fauci and his media allies have joined forces in rebuking Kristi Noem after the lockdown-skeptic South Dakota governor had the temerity to criticize the Covid czar's forecast she said hadn't come true. | Noem on Saturday took on Fauci's lockdown advice while making her case at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) for conservative values and respecting individual liberties. | "He told me that on my worst day, I'd have 10,000 patients in the hospital," Noem said. "On our worst day, we had a little over 600. Now, I don't know if you agree with me, but Dr. Fauci is wrong…

RT (2021-03-01). Deep 'psychological pain': Japan urges China to stop subjecting its citizens to Covid-19 ANAL SWABS. rt.com Tokyo has requested Beijing stop subjecting Japanese nationals in China to anal swab testing for Covid-19, urging it use alternative methods instead. The procedure is said to inflict "great psychological pain" on test subjects. | The coronavirus testing issue was brought up by Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato during a press conference on Monday. | Some Japanese reported to our embassy in China that they received anal swab tests, which caused a great psychological pain. | Japan has already requested Beijing halt the controversial testing, sticking to other methods instead. So far, China has not re…

RT (2021-03-01). Chinese investment in Australia plunges to RECORD LOW amid escalating trade row. rt.com New data from the Australian National University (ANU) showed Chinese investment in Australia dropped by more than 61 percent in 2020, to just over a billion Australian dollars (US$780 million) — the lowest in the past six years. | According to figures from the Chinese Investment in Australia Database (CHIIA), the drop followed a 47 percent fall in 2019, when Chinese investment totaled US$1.57 billion. It was also well short of the peak of US$12.7 billion recorded in 2016. | "It reflects the effects of Covid, but also more scrutiny of foreign investment by the Australian government, particularly that fro…

RT (2021-03-02). Johnson & Johnson's newly-approved Covid vaccine met with pushback as Catholic diocese condemns it for 'ties to abortion cells'. rt.com As Johnson & Johnson rolls out its freshly approved Covid-19 vaccine in the US, it faces a religious controversy as the Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans has labeled it "morally compromised" over links to abortion cells. | Catholics are advised not to receive the vaccine because Johnson & Johnson used cell lines derived from decades-old abortions in both testing and production of the new product, the Archdiocese Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have utiliz…

Margaret Flowers (2021-03-02). Small Acts Can Become A Power No Government Can Suppress. dissidentvoice.org The American Rescue Plan (ARP) was passed in the House this past week and now heads to the Senate, where it will no doubt be changed before it becomes law some time in mid-March. The current unemployment benefits expire on March 14. While we don't know what the final bill will look like, at least …

Editor (2021-03-02). Digamosle a Biden: °Deja de bombardear Siria! workers.org La administración de Biden solo tardó 36 días en el cargo para mostrar al mundo, a través de un bombardeo en Siria, que es beligerante, agresivo y empeñado en la guerra. Solo hubo un breve respiro de las viles palabras y acciones de Trump. Ahora tenemos que enfrentar los viles . . . |

Robert Penner (2021-03-02). Struggle for justice forces reopening of two cases of police violence in Milwaukee. liberationnews.org The cases of Christopher Davis, killed by Milwaukee Deputy Juan Ortiz, and Jay Anderson, killed by Wauwatosa officer Joseph Mensah, have been re-opened in the Milwaukee area.

E.L. Melrose (2021-03-02). Erie, PA: Residents skeptical towards corporation's "green" promises. liberationnews.org The plight of this area has left the door open to the opportunism of "green" industry and it is currently being courted by International Recycling Group (IRG).

Devin Cole (2021-03-02). Nadezhda Krupskaya: Bolshevik revolutionary and educator. workers.org Feb. 14 is the birth date of Nadezhda Krupskaya — Bolshevik revolutionary, educator and library advocate. Although born to a formerly aristocratic family, her family had descended into poverty, which led her to study Marxism. She joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1903. Nadezhda Krupskaya In 1905, Krupskaya . . . |

RT (2021-03-02). Attempt at civil discourse on 'Wokeism' ends in Clubhouse room 'coup,' Jewish prof shut down as 'SPICY WHITE' & demands for CASH. rt.com Evolutionary biologist Bret Weinstein had to relive his Evergreen College moment whe he was attacked from all sides in a Clubhouse room hijacked by hostile "anti-racist" mob aghast at the idea of white people discussing "wokeism." | The room, dubbed "Is Clubhouse Obsessed with 'Wokeism'?" was created by independent journalist Michael Tracey, who said he thought the Clubhouse chats "almost inevitably evolve into a discussion of 'woke-ism'… but there's seldom anyone in the room who identifies enough with the ideology to give a defense of it." | His attempt to create a safe space for a civil discourse and let b…

RT (2021-03-02). Former CIA director John Brennan 'embarrassed to be a WHITE MALE'… and critics agree they're embarrassed he's a white male. rt.com John Brennan, the former CIA director and perjurer who's now an MSNBC contributor, apparently found a point on which he and his conservative critics can agree: Both sides are ashamed that he's a white male. | Responding to an MSNBC discussion Monday about Republican claims regarding the January 6 Capitol riot, Brennan said, "I'm increasingly embarrassed to be a white male these days, in light of what I see of my other white males saying." | John Brennan should be ashamed to be John Brennan

RT (2021-03-02). 'We have to DO STUFF NOW': Biden adviser says White House to start redressing systemic racism, not just wait for reparations study. rt.com President Joe Biden will push ahead on making amends for America's "systemic racism," creating more opportunities for black people right away rather than waiting for a reparations study, a White House adviser said. | "We don't want to wait on a study," Cedric Richmond, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, said in an 'Axios on HBO' | White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed on February 17 that Biden s…

RT (2021-03-02). Twitch reverts back to 'women' after tweet celebrating 'Womxn's History Month' savaged online. rt.com Streaming platform Twitch has returned to the conventional spelling for "women" after its social media post hailing "Womxn's History Month" — avoiding any "gender-binary language" — backfired and angered critics on all sides. | Though the company took to Twitter on Monday to inform users that "March is Womxn's History Month," using an alternative styling of "women" in a bid to include non-binary gender identities, it made an abrupt about-face just a few hours later, announcing that it would revert back to the standard spelling. | "While we originally wanted to use a word that acknowledges the short…

RT (2021-03-02). US won't share Covid-19 vaccines with Mexico as Americans must be inoculated first — White House. rt.com The Biden administration has rejected the idea of sharing Covid-19 vaccines with the hard-hit neighbor Mexico, White House press-secretary Jen Psaki said, adding that it can only be discussed after all Americans get their shots. | "The administration's focus is on ensuring that every American is vaccinated. And once we accomplish that objective we're happy to discuss further steps," Psaki said when asked about possible vaccine sharing during a briefing on Monday. | The comments came hours before the virtual meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Mexican counterpart, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. | Also…