ap-breaking
Oregon GOP legislator ousted over state Capitol breach
SALEM, Ore. (AP) Republican lawmakers voted with majority Democrats in the Oregon House of Representatives to take the historic step of expelling a Republican member who let violent, far-right protesters into the state Capitol on Dec. 21.Legislators said on the House floor that this could be the most important vote they ever cast. They then proceeded Thursday night to expel an unapologetic Rep. Mike Nearman with a 59-1 vote, marking the first time a member has been expelled by the House in its 160-year history. The only vote against the resolution for expulsion was Nearman s own.The facts are clear that Mr. Nearman unapologetically coordinated and planned a breach of the Oregon State Capitol, House Speaker Tina Kotek, a Democrat, said after the vote. His actions were blatant and deliberate, and he has shown no remorse for jeopardizing the safety of every person in the Capitol that day.Rep. Paul Holvey, a Democrat who chaired a committee that earlier Thursday unanimously recommended Nearman s expulsion, reminded lawmakers of the events of Dec. 21, which were an eerie foreshadowing of the much more serious Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.On the morning of Dec. 21st, a couple hundred protesters some of them heavily armed and wearing body armor arrived at the Capitol for a protest, with the intent to illegally enter and presumably occupy the building and interrupt the proceedings of the Oregon Legislature, Holvey said. Staff and legislators were terrified. We can only speculate what would have happened if they were able to get all the way in.Nearman said he let the protesters in because he believes the Capitol, which has been closed to the public to protect against spread of the coronavirus, should have been open. The assault happened during a peak of the pandemic.But even Republicans, who are often bitterly opposed to Democratic initiatives on climate change and some other bills, said the crowd outside the Capitol that day was not made up of constituents who wanted to peacefully engage in the democratic process.Some were carrying guns. Some shouted false QAnon conspiracy theories about Democrats kidnapping babies. They carried American flags, banners for former President Donald Trump and a sign calling for the arrest of Democratic Gov. Kate Brown. They broke windows and assaulted journalists.Nobody should have opened the door to the people who were here that day, said Rep. Daniel Bonham, a Republican and a member Holvey s special committee.The final straw for Republican House members came on June 4, when video emerged showing Nearman choreographing how he would let protesters into the Capitol a few days before it actually happened. For his fellow lawmakers, that was proof it was a premeditated act, which Nearman acknowledged. All 22 of his fellow House Republicans wrote him on Monday, strongly recommending he resign.As lawmakers gathered to decide Nearman s fate, a few dozen people waving American flags and one carrying a sign saying I am Mike Nearman gathered outside the Capitol. One repeatedly kicked a metal door, sending booms through a marble hallway of the building.Nearman was seen on security video opening a door to protesters on Dec. 21 as lawmakers met in emergency session to deal with economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Protesters barged into the building, which was closed to the public because of coronavirus safety protocols, got into shoving matches with police and sprayed officers with bear spray.It s impossible to overstate the seriousness of the reason we are here today, Holvey said during the committee hearing. Rep. Nearman enabled armed, violent protesters to enter the Capitol, breaching the security of the Capitol, which was officially closed to the public, and also endangered the authorized staff and legislators inside the building.Hundreds of people provided written testimony to the House Special Committee On December 21, 2020, which was composed of three Democrats and three Republicans.Some who testified excoriated Nearman as a seditionist. Others praised him for letting people into the Capitol, saying residents should be allowed to attend even though hearings are livestreamed on video.Mike Nearman s behavior ... was abhorrent and anti-democratic, David Alba said. Furthermore, by aiding and supporting extremists, he has placed people s lives in danger. He should be removed from office and he is not fit to represent my district.But Nearman s supporters said they elected him and the House should not expel him. One supporter suggested the 22 GOP lawmakers who asked him to resign should be voted out of office.May your Republican constituents take no mercy on you, Casey Ocupe said in written testimony.Kotek credited riot police, who finally pushed out the Dec. 21 protesters, with preventing a full-scale assault.Nearman also faces two misdemeanor criminal charges and has said he will seek a trial by jury.___Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at https: twitter.com andrewselsky
Copyright holder settles lawsuit with LOVE artist s estate
ROCKLAND, Maine (AP) The estate of pop artist Robert Indiana has reached a settlement that keeps intact a longstanding relationship with Morgan Art Foundation, which holds the copyright for his iconic 1960s LOVE series, to promote and preserve his work, officials said Friday.New York-based Morgan Art Foundation intends to work with the Maine-based Star of Hope Foundation, which aims to transform Indiana s island home into a museum to display and celebrate his work.The future is bright for the market and legacy of Robert Indiana, and the estate is pleased to have helped create this success, James Brannan, a Rockland attorney for the estate, said in a statement.Indiana s estate had been entangled in a lawsuit brought by Morgan Art Foundation. The lawsuit was filed the day before Indiana s death on May 19, 2018, at age 89 on Vinalhaven Island, 15 miles (25 kilometers) off Rockland, Maine.It accused the reclusive artist s caretaker and an art publisher of taking advantage of Indiana and producing forgeries accusations the pair denied. That led to more claims and counter claims.Under the agreement, Morgan dropped its lawsuit against the estate and Indiana s caretaker but not against the art publisher.It also doesn t resolve a case brought by Maine s attorney general, who claims the estate paid excessive legal fees during litigation. That lawsuit contends $3.7 million paid to four law firms and about $400,000 collected by the estate s personal representative were excessive.Indiana created a lifetime of art but he s best known for LOVE, spelled with two letters to a line and with a tilted O.It s been transformed into sculptures around the world, and was featured on a U.S. postage stamp.
The Night Watchman, Malcolm X biography win arts Pulitzers
NEW YORK (AP) One of the country s most esteemed novelists, Louise Erdrich, won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for The Night Watchman.Other winners for books include the late Les Payne and daughter Tamara Payne for their Malcolm X biography The Dead Are Arising.The awards were announced Friday during a remote ceremony that honored the best work in journalism and the arts in 2020, a year upended by the coronavirus pandemic, the racial reckoning after the police killing of George Floyd and the U.S. presidential election.Marcia Chatelain s Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America won for history. Natalie Diaz s Postcolonial Love Poem was the poetry winner and David Zucchino s Wilmington s Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy was cited for general nonfiction.Tania Le n composition Stride won for music. The judges commended for being a musical journey full of surprise, with powerful brass and rhythmic motifs that incorporate Black music traditions from the U.S. and the Caribbean into a Western orchestral fabric.The Hot Wing King by Katori Hall, a play set around a hot wing cooking competition, won the prize for drama during a theater season that saw most venues largely shuttered.The drama award, which includes a $15,000 prize, is for a distinguished play by an American author, preferably original in its source and dealing with American life.The Pulitzer board hailed The Hot Wing King for its look at masculinity and how it is filtered by the experiences of a loving gay couple and their extended family as they prepare for a culinary competitionFinalists included Circle Jerk by Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley, and Stew by Zora Howard.With most theaters closed during the pandemic, the Pulitzer Prize Board altered the requirements for this year s drama award, allowing postponed or cancelled works, as well as plays produced and performed in places other than theaters, including online, outside or in site-specific venues during calendar 2020. The Hot Wing King opened off-Broadway just days before the city s theaters were closed.Hall is the author of the Olivier Award-winning The Mountaintop and is a Tony Award-nominated co- playwright of Broadway s Tina The Tina Turner Musical.Previous playwrights honored include August Wilson, Edward Albee, Eugene O Neill, Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams. Recent winners include Annie Baker s The Flick, Ayad Akhtar s Disgraced, Stephen Adly Guirgis s Between Riverside and Crazy, and Lin-Manuel Miranda s Hamilton.
Shakib apologizes for kicking stumps in Bangladesh cricket
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) Celebrated Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan has apologized after kicking over the stumps in a wild reaction to a cricket umpire s decision on Friday.In a Dhaka Premier League match between traditional rivals, Mohammedan Sporting Club captain Shakib was bowling against Abahani Limited captain Mushfiqur Rahim, a fellow Bangladesh international.When Shakib s appeal for lbw was denied by the umpire, he kicked at the stumps, uprooted them and threw them. He left the field because of a rain delay but his side eventually won.Kazi Inam, the chairman of the body which runs the DPL, said any disciplinary action will depend on the report of the umpires and match referee.If someone breaches the discipline, action will be taken as per the rules, he said.But after Shakib s misbehaviour drew heavy public criticism and some support on social media, he apologised.I am extremely sorry for losing my temper and ruining the match for everyone and especially those who are watching from home, he wrote on Facebook. An experienced player like me should not have reacted that way but sometimes against all odds it happens unfortunately.I apologise to the teams, management, tournament officials and organizing committee for this human error. Hopefully, I won t be repeating this again in the future.Cricket s former No. 1 allrounder is no stranger to controversy.Bangladesh suspended him for six months in 2014 for attitude problems that included a lewd gesture on TV, beating a spectator in the stadium, and travelling to the Caribbean Premier League without a clearance.Also, he was banned by the International Cricket Council for two years in 2019, with one year of that suspended, due to his failure to report corrupt approaches from bookies. He returned to national duty this year against the West Indies.___More AP sports: https: apnews.com hub apf-sports and https: twitter.com AP_Sports
AP wins 2 Pulitzers for photos of pandemic pain, US unrest
Associated Press photographers awarded the Pulitzer Prize on Friday had dodged tear gas to capture protests against racial injustice and patiently built trust with elderly people to empathetically document the toll of the coronavirus pandemic.AP s chief photographer in Spain, Emilio Morenatti, won the feature photography prize. Work by 10 AP photographers won the breaking news prize.The outstanding work of the AP photography staff in covering racial justice protests and Emilio Morenatti s compassionate, year-long look at the impact of COVID-19 on the elderly in Spain are two shining examples of what photojournalists strive to do everywhere: use light and shadow to bring knowledge and understanding to all corners of the globe, said J. David Ake, AP assistant managing editor and director of photography.Morenatti, based in Madrid, separated himself from his family for months to avoid the risk of exposure as he documented the toll of COVID-19 on the elderly.He captured images of an older couple hugging and kissing through a plastic sheet, mortuary workers in hazmat gear removing bodies and of people enduring the crisis in isolation.Morenatti is a veteran photographer with wide experience in war zones. He was embedded with the U.S. military in southern Afghanistan in August 2009 when the vehicle he was in was hit by a roadside bomb. His left leg was amputated below the knee.The AP photographers who won in the breaking news category captured the drama and raw emotion of protests that roiled U.S. cities after the May 2020 death of George Floyd, a Black man murdered by a Minneapolis police officer.AP photographers captured close-up images of demonstrators with fists in the air and sometimes violent conflicts with police. One widely reproduced photograph by Julio Cortez on the night of May 28 in riot-torn Minneapolis shows a lone, silhouetted protester running with an upside-down American flag past a burning liquor store.The ten photographers who won the breaking news prize are freelancer Noah Berger, Alex Brandon, freelancer Ringo Chiu, Cortez, Frank Franklin II, David Goldman, John Minchillo, Marcio Sanchez, Mike Stewart and Evan Vucci.The AP also had two Pulitzer finalists in the investigative reporting category and an additional finalist for breaking news photography.The AP s two finalists in the investigative reporting category were for Fruits of Labor, a series that exposed widespread abuse in the lucrative palm oil industry, and for reporting on China s early mishandling of the coronavirus and human rights violations against the Uyghurs.AP was a finalist in the breaking news photography for images of the immediate aftermath of the port explosion that leveled part of Beirut.This is the second year in a row AP has won the Pulitzer for feature photography. AP last won both photography prizes in 1999.The news cooperative, which is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year, has won 56 Pulitzer Prizes, including 34 for photography.
Longtime prosecutor dies says after 2 family members killed
ISLANDTON, S.C. (AP) A longtime prosecutor in South Carolina has died just days after his grandson and daughter-in-law were found dead on the family s land in Colleton County in a shooting investigators have said little about.The announcement of Randolph Murdaugh III s death came from his law firm Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick on Thursday.The firm didn t give a cause of death, but Democratic state Sen. Margie Bright Matthews of Colleton County said Murdaugh, 81, was in intensive care when she asked for prayers for the family Tuesday on the Senate floor.Murdaugh s death Thursday came the day before the graveside service for his 22-year-old grandson Paul Murdaugh and Paul s mother, 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh.The mother and son were found shot near dog kennels at the family s home near Islandton on Monday night.The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating the case and has released few details, including what kind of weapons were used to kill them, whether they have any potential suspects or who found their bodies and called 911. Colleton County deputies turned the case over to state police and their police report said almost nothing other than two people were shot.South Carolina law requires police agencies to release any reports on crime they create within 14 days, and they must include details such as the nature and substance of the incident.The Murdaughs are one of South Carolina s most prominent legal families.Paul Murdaugh was awaiting trial on a charge of boating under the influence causing death in a February 2019 crash that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach. The woman s body was found seven days after the crash.The wreck led to stories questioning whether his family s ties to the legal system in the area affected the investigation.Murdaugh III served as the elected solicitor in the 14th Circuit from 1987 to 2005. His father and grandfather also held the job as prosecutor for Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties.Murdaugh III s son, Alex, the husband and father of the victims in Monday s shooting, is a part-time prosecutor in the same office.
Swiss detail extra security measures for Biden-Putin summit
GENEVA (AP) Swiss authorities plan to temporarily restrict airspace over the city of Geneva and to deploy up to 3,000 troops and police officers as part of extra security for the summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden next week.Switzerland s seven-member executive body, the Federal Council, approved temporary security measures Friday that include the deployment of up to 1,000 troops and airspace surveillance by the Swiss air force during Wednesday s summit.Switzerland is obliged to ensure the protection of persons who enjoy special protection under international law, such as the American and Russian heads of state, the Federal Department of Defense said.The defense department said in a statement that commercial flights to and from Geneva s airport would not be affected by the airspace restriction that runs from 8 a.m. Tuesday to 5 p.m. Thursday.Col. Monica Bonfanti, the commander of the Geneva police department, said during a news conference outside the summit venue that 900 extra police officers would be called in from other Swiss regions, raising the police contingent in the city to about 2,000 including local officers.Stephane Theimer, vice director of the Federal Office of Police, or fedpol, and head of the Federal Security Service, said the office had received no indication of threats or upheaval involving the summit. But he said the terrorist threat remains high in Switzerland and Europe and cited other threats from extremist violent circles.Naturally, the respective diasporas of the two countries could want to take advantage of the visit of their president to carry out actions, Theimer said. We are at a high level (of alert).Elaborating on his comments to The Associated Press, he said the meeting offered a window of opportunity for opponentsFor the moment we don t have any concrete sign when it comes to actions by the diaspora, but it s something we re taking into consideration, Theimer said.The extra troops will have roles in the protection of foreign emissaries and support for Geneva regional police in the air and on Lake Geneva, the defense department said.Local authorities announced Thursday that the summit, part of Biden s first overseas trip as president, will take place in an 18th-century manor house in a public park that looks out onto the lake.The White House has played down expectations for the summit and said Biden plans to raise Ukraine, arms control, human rights and cyber ransomware attacks with Putin.Russian officials have said their summit agenda includes strategic stability, global crises, climate change and efforts to counter the coronavirus pandemic.
The Latest: UK records highest virus cases since February
LONDON The U.K. has recorded its highest coronavirus infections since late February, the majority from the delta variant first identified in India.Government figures on Friday showed 8,125 new cases, the highest since Feb. 26. The delta variant, which is considered about 40% more transmissible than the previous dominant strain, accounts for more than 90% of all new infections in the U.K.There are concerns the next planned lockdown easing in England on June 21 may be delayed because of the increase in cases. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce Monday whether social distancing restrictions will be lifted.The hope is the rapid rollout of vaccines will break the link between new cases and deaths, especially as most cases are among younger age groups. On Friday, another 17 coronavirus-related deaths were announced, taking the confirmed total to 127,884, the highest in Europe.___MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:AP source: J&J doses to be released, some tossedChina s children may be next in line for COVID-19 vaccinesLeaders of G-7 nations gather to pledge 1B vaccine doses for worldReports of rising coronavirus cases in Russia___Follow more of AP s pandemic coverage at https: apnews.com hub coronavirus-pandemic and https: apnews.com hub coronavirus-vaccine___HERE S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:ROME Italy is recommending the AstraZeneca vaccine only for people over age 60, saying younger people who received a first AstraZeneca shot should get Pfizer or Moderna for their second shot.The government s scientific committee revised its vaccine strategy after reviewing the latest data on cases of rare blood clots in people who received AstraZeneca. It s acting now because the virus has drastically decreased, thanks to months of restrictions and a vaccine campaign that inoculated 45% of the population with at least one shot.While cases of blood clots after a second dose are extraordinarily rare, the committee is recommending a different vaccine for a second dose for people under age 60, according to Dr. Franco Locatelli, head of the scientific committee.Other countries, including France and Canada, have made similar recommendations. The European Medicines Agency still recommends people who received a first AstraZeneca vaccine to follow up with the same shot.___COLOMBO, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka extended its lockdown for another week, amid a surge of coronavirus deaths in recent weeks.Sri Lanka is under a nearly three-week lockdown, scheduled to end on June 14. But on Friday, the government announced it will remain until June 21.The new restrictions come as the coronavirus death toll crossed the 2,000 mark on Friday. It took 14 months to reach the first 1,000 deaths, while the second 1,000 deaths came in just 23 days.People are banned from leaving their homes, while food and other essentials will be distributed through mobile vendors. However, the government says the ban will not apply to those engaged in essential service such as health, food supply, communications and power sectors. Factories, construction sites and agriculture sectors can operate.Doctors and health workers have urged the government to keep the existing travel ban to contain the spreading of the coronavirus. Sri Lanka s total confirmed cases have reached 216,134.___WASHINGTON U.S. regulators are allowing the release of 10 million doses of Johnson & Johnson s COVID-19 vaccine from a troubled Baltimore factory.However, material to make many more doses must be thrown out because of possible contamination, according to a person familiar with the decision.The FDA announced Friday it had determined that two batches from the plant could be released. But it says several other batches are not suitable for use and additional batches are still under review. The doses originated at an Emergent BioSolutions factory, known as Bayview, that is making the vaccine for J&J.A second person familiar with the decision confirmed it would allow for 10 million doses to be released. Both people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they weren t authorized to release details about it ahead of its announcement.By Zeke Miller and Linda A. Johnson___TOKYO The question of allowing any local fans into Tokyo Olympic venues is still being debated, with a decision not expected before the end of the month.Fans from abroad have already been banned in what is shaping up as a largely made-for-television Olympics.Tokyo organizing committee president Seiko Hashimoto originally said she would announce a decision in April but has repeatedly postponed it.Ticket sales were to account for $800 million in income for the organizing committee. Most of that income will be lost and have to be made up by Japanese government entities.The postponed Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to open on July 23.___BELGRADE, Serbia Serbia s medical agency has approved the use of Pfizer vaccines against coronavirus for youth ages 12 to 15.The Medicines and Medical Devices Agency of Serbia on Friday says it gave the approval after a rigorous control of the scientific data about the clinical trials in other countries.A senior government health official, Mirsad Djerlek, says a priority would be children with chronic diseases who are at greater risk from COVID-19. Djerlek says Serbia has vaccinated about 37% of adult population in the country of 7 million. He says authorities hope to reach 50% vaccination by the end of this month.Serbia has mostly used China s Sinopharm vaccines, along with Pfizer, Sputnik V and AstraZeneca.Serbia has relaxed rules against the coronavirus after a drop in daily cases and hospitalizations. The Balkan nation has confirmed more than 700,000 infections since the start of the pandemic and nearly 7,000 deaths.___ISLAMABAD Pakistan will spend $1.1 billion in the next fiscal year to import COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate most of the 100 million adult population.This announcement was made by finance minister Shaukat Tareen on Friday while presenting the annual budget for fiscal 2021-22 in the parliament. Pakistan s fiscal year begins on July 1.Pakistan, a nation of 220 million, has so far mainly relied on vaccines import from neighboring China. The latest development comes two days after Pakistan said it has administered 10 million vaccine doses amid a decline in COVID-19 cases and deaths from coronavirus.Tareen also set a target of achieving 4.8 percent GDP growth in the next fiscal year. Pakistan s economy has been under pressure since last year when it imposed weeks-long nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus.Pakistan has registered a total of 938,737 confirmed cases and 21,576 confirmed deaths.___TAIPEI, Taiwan If China is to meet its tentative goal of vaccinating 80% of its population against the coronavirus by the end of the year, tens of millions of children are going to have to start rolling up their sleeves.Regulators have taken the first steps by approving two domestically produced vaccines for use in children aged 3 to 17, though no date has been set for the shots to start.Children have been largely spared the worst of the pandemic, becoming infected less easily than adults and generally showing less severe symptoms when they do contract the virus. But some experts say if countries are going to achieve herd immunity, inoculating children should be part of the plan.Few regulators around the world have evaluated the safety of COVID-19 shots in kids. The United States, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong are allowing the use of the Pfizer vaccine in children as young as 12.China has a population of 1.4 billion, meaning it needs to inoculate 560 million people to reach its goal of 40% vaccination by June and 1.12 billion people to get to the 80% goal. It will be hard to do the latter without vaccinating many of its 254 million children who are younger than 14.___LONDON The European Medicines Agency has approved a new manufacturing site for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, in a move that could substantially boost production for the European Union.In a statement on Friday, the EU drug regulator says it had approved a site in Monts, France, operated by Recipharm. In addition to the new site approval, the EMA authorized several other sites to conduct batch control and testing.This month, two locations in the U.S. were approved for production of vaccines destined for the 27-nation EU bloc. Any medicines or vaccines authorized for the EU market must first have their production facilities approved by the EMA.The EMA says these new approved sites are expected to result in an additional 1 to 2 million vials of Moderna s coronavirus vaccine every month.___KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia Malaysia s government says a two-week nationwide lockdown due to end Monday will be extended for another two weeks as new daily infections remain high at more than 6,000.Senior Minister Ismail Sabri said the National Security Council made the decision at its meeting Friday. Although daily cases have dropped from its peak of above 9,000 just before the lockdown, he said average daily cases since the lockdown was still high.The health ministry on Friday reported 6,849 new infections, bringing the country s confirmed total tally to 646,411. Another 84 deaths raised the confirmed death toll to 3,768.___BERLIN Germany is lifting a blanket travel warning for countries with high coronavirus infection rates starting July 1.Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says after many months of lockdown, we can look forward to greater normalcy, that includes travel.The general travel warning will be lifted next month for all countries that have fewer than 200 newly confirmed coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants in a week.But Maas cautioned that the pandemic isn t over yet and the rise of new variants means risks remain.Countries with infection rates above 200 or a large share of concerning variants among new cases, like Britain, will remain on the government s list of risk areas. Germans are discouraged from traveling to such countries and people arriving in Germany from there will need to go into quarantine.___LONDON The European Medicines Agency says it s recommending that people who have had a rare blood vessel syndrome not be immunized with AstraZeneca s COVID-19 vaccine.In a statement on Friday, the EU drug regulator said it reviewed cases of six people who had capillary leak syndrome after they had received a shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The vaccine has previously been linked to rare blood clots, but health officials say its benefits still outweigh the small risks.EMA experts also concluded that the capillary leak condition should be added to the product information as a new side effect of the vaccine.The agency said it is continuing its review of heart inflammation in a small number of people who developed conditions after getting immunized with the vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna Inc.The EMA said it is studying cases of myocarditis, inflammation of the heart, and pericarditis, inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart. Symptoms include shortness of breath and chest pain; the problems are usually temporary.Further analysis is needed to determine whether there is a causal link with the vaccines, the EU agency said.The EMA said it expects to finalize its review of such cases next month.___MOSCOW Confirmed coronavirus cases are continuing to rise in Russia, where authorities on Friday reported 12,505 new infections -- a 25% increase from the number registered on Monday.Moscow accounted for nearly half of the newly confirmed cases with 5,853, almost twice the number reported in Russia s capital at the beginning of the week Despite the surge of infections, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin vowed earlier this week not to impose a lockdown.In St. Petersburg, Russia s second-largest city, hours-long lines of ambulances have been spotted this week near hospitals treating COVID-19 patients. The city hosted a massive economic forum last week and is scheduled to host several matches of soccer s European Championship next week.The Russian state coronavirus task force has reported a total of nearly 5.2 million virus cases and over 125,000 deaths in the pandemic. Most virus-related restrictions in Russia were lifted last summer, and authorities have shunned tough measures ever since.___CARBIS BAY, England Leaders from the Group of Seven industrialized nations are set to commit at their summit to sharing at least 1 billion coronavirus shots with struggling countries around the world half the doses coming from the U.S. and 100 million from the U.K.Vaccine sharing commitments from U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson set the stage for the G-7 meeting in southwest England, where leaders will pivot Friday from opening greetings and a family photo directly into a session on Building Back Better From COVID-19.We re going to help lead the world out of this pandemic working alongside our global partners, Biden said. The G-7 also includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.The leaders hope the meeting in the resort of Carbis Bay will also energize the global economy. On Friday, they are set to formally embrace a global minimum tax of at least 15% on corporations, following an agreement reached a week ago by their finance ministers. The minimum is meant to stop companies from using tax havens and other tools to avoid taxes.It represents a potential win for the Biden administration, which has proposed a global minimum tax as a way to pay for infrastructure projects, in addition to creating an alternative that could remove some European countries digital services taxes that largely hit U.S. tech firms.___