• US bombs facilities in Syria used by Iran-backed militia.
• Vaccination ‘passports’ may open society, but global inequity looms.
• Exclusive: Some local GOP leaders fire up base with conspiracies, lies. 
• Italy’s Mount Etna puts on its latest spectacular volcanic show.

Today is my last edition of the Morning Wire. Look out for news Monday about an engaging new format in which various colleagues in different parts of the world will take the helm. After a year of unparalleled modern-day global tumult in a pandemic, we thank you for reading. Be well and stay safe.

TAMER FAKAHANY
DEPUTY DIRECTOR – GLOBAL NEWS COORDINATION, LONDON

The Rundown

AP PHOTO/ALEX BRANDON

US bombs facilities in Syria used by Iran-backed militia groups in response to rocket attacks in Iraq; US ties with Saudis at stake as US releases findings on Khashoggi killing

The Biden administration has carried out its first military action with airstrikes in Syria, targeting facilities near the Iraqi border used by Iranian-backed militia groups.

The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member and other coalition troops.

Every American president from Ronald Reagan onward has ordered bombardment of countries in the Middle East; Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen have taken the brunt.

The airstrike in Syria targeted facilities belonging to a powerful Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, killing one of their militiamen and wounding a number of others, an Iraqi militia official told the AP today.

The official said that the strikes against the Kataeb Hezbollah militia, or Hezbollah Brigades, hit an area along the border between the Syrian site of Boukamal facing Qaim on the Iraqi side.  Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad and Lolita C. Baldor and Robert Burns in Washington have the latest developments.

The new administration, in its first weeks, has emphasized its intent to put more focus on the challenges posed by China, even as volatility and threats to U.S. military presence and interests persist in the Arab World.

But Biden’s decision to attack in Syria does not appear to signal an intention to widen U.S. military involvement in the region but rather to demonstrate a will to defend U.S. troops in Iraq.

U.S.-Saudi Relations: President Biden has spoken to Saudi King Salman for the first time since taking office more than a month ago. The conversation between the two strategic partners was overshadowed by the expected release of U.S. intelligence findings on whether the king’s son approved the killing of a U.S.-based Saudi journalist, Ellen Knickmeyer reports.

Jamal Khashoggi was a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s authoritarian consolidation of power. Saudi security and intelligence agents killed him inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. The Saudi prince denies ordering the killing. The Biden administration has promised “accountability” in the gruesome slaying.

AP PHOTO/MAYA ALLERUZZO

Vaccination ‘passports’ may open society, but global inequity looms; Brazil passes 250,000 deaths; As US hospital numbers fall, fatigued staff get relief at last 

Governments around the world say getting vaccinated and having the proper documentation to prove it will smooth the way to recovery from the pandemic.

Such efforts have gotten a head start in Israel.

But that also raises the prospect of further dividing the world along the lines of wealth and access to vaccines, creating ethical and logistical issues that have alarmed decision-makers globally, Laurie Kellman reports from Tel Aviv.

An expert on global health law says that in many low-income countries, most people won’t be vaccinated for many years. Israel has enough vaccine to inoculate everyone over 16.

But even with that wealth, there’s concern about using the shots as diplomatic currency and power, further exacerbating inequality.

Brazil Death Toll: The country’s death toll has surpassed 250,000. It is the world’s second-highest after the U.S., and the virus continues to run rampant in the country. Health experts say this is because prevention was never made a priority. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has called the virus a “little flu” and lambasted local leaders who imposed restrictions on activities. Experts say that at least a dozen states are in the midst of a second surge even worse than the one faced in 2020. The executive director of Brazil’s Institute for Health Policy Studies said Brazil simply didn’t have a response plan. Diane Jeantet reports from Rio de Janeiro.

U.S. Hospitals: The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S. has plummeted by 80,000 in six weeks, and 17% of the nation’s adult population has gotten at least one dose of vaccine. The improvements offer some relief to front-line workers. One St. Louis respiratory therapist at Mercy Hospital recalled that when virus patients were inundating the region’s hospitals, colleagues arriving for yet another grueling shift with a dwindling supply of ventilators would often glance at their assignments and cry. On his most recent shift there were only about 20 virus patients, down from as many as 100 at the peak of the surge. Heather Hollingsworth and Todd Richmond report.

Variant in NYC: Scientists have identified a mutated version of the virus spreading in New York City. Researchers this week said the new variant first appeared in the metropolitan area in late November and has since cropped up in neighboring states. Public health experts warn it’s not clear yet how problematic the variant may be and how effective vaccines will be. Experts say that public health measures like social distancing and mask-wearing are critical to stop the virus mutating and spreading, Marion Renault reports.

U.S. Economy: Democrats are ready to push a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package through the House today. That win is expected despite a setback that means a minimum wage boost is unlikely to be in the final version that reaches President Biden. A near party-line vote seemed certain on the relief measure in the House. It represents Biden’s first crack at his initial legislative goal of acting decisively against the pandemic. In the year since the virus has taken hold, it has stalled much of the economy, killed half a million Americans and reshaped the daily lives of virtually everyone, Alan Fram reports.

Romania’s Crisis: It reported its first infection a year ago this week. Since then, the country’s underfunded medical system has turned its focus to treating patients with the virus. But that has left many Romanians with other health problems deprived of the critical care they need, including patients who are HIV positive or have cancer. Romania’s government has announced plans to reorganize the country’s hospitals so that more non-COVID-19 patients can get access to health care as a third surge looms.  Nicolae Dumitrache and Stephen McGrath report from Bucharest.

Asia Today: South Korea has administered its first available vaccine shots, launching a mass immunization campaign health authorities hope will restore some level of normalcy by the end of the year. Hong Kong, too, began administering its first vaccines to the public, kicking off a program offering free vaccinations to all 7.5 million of the city’s residents. In Japan, officials said enough vaccine shipments will arrive at local government offices by the end of June to inoculate the nation’s 36 million elderly people. The timeline was given after questions were raised about supplies of the imported vaccines.

More from Around the World:

• Italy’s northern Lombardy region, where Europe’s virus outbreak erupted last year, has asked the national government for more vaccines to help stem a surge of new cases that are taxing the health system in the province of Brescia.
• Ukraine has recorded a 50% increase in the number of daily new infections, a day after authorities launched the country’s vaccination campaign.
• Syria’s health minister has said his government procured vaccines from a friendly country which he declined to name, adding that front-line health workers would be the first to be inoculated starting next week.
• Bahrain has become the first nation to authorize Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine for emergency use. The announcement comes just a day after U.S regulators concluded the shot offers strong protection against severe COVID-19.
• Two U.S. Navy warships operating in the Mideast have been affected by the coronavirus. A dozen troops aboard the USS San Diego tested positive. The commanders says that ship is at port in Bahrain. The USS Philippine Sea also has several suspected cases of the virus.
• A resurgence of cases is hitting Somalia hard, straining one of the world’s most fragile health systems.
• China has approved two more vaccines for wider use, adding to its growing arsenal of shots.
• A state of emergency that was set up to curb the coronavirus in Japan will be lifted in six urban areas this weekend while staying in the Tokyo area for another week.
• Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is encouraging people to be vaccinated, saying the shot is quick, harmless and will help protect others against the disease.
• England’s ethnic minority communities have higher levels of infection and lower levels of vaccine acceptance than other groups, according to a new study.
• Cyprus will reopen high schools, gyms, pools, dance academies and art galleries on March 1 in a further, incremental easing of the country’s second lockdown.

EXPLAINER: Meet the vaccine appointment bots, and their foes.To cope with trouble booking online, some people in the U.S. have turned to bots that scan websites and send alerts when slots for vaccines open up. Bots provide relief to people struggling to score appointments. But not all public health officials are fans. Some say they give even more of an advantage to tech-savvy people. One Massachusetts clinic canceled appointments after learning that out-of-towners used a bot to scoop them up. Health officials are putting in measures to prevent the use of bots, Matt O’Brien and Candice Choi report.

AP PHOTO/JOHN MINCHILLO

Exclusive: Some local GOP leaders in US are firing up their base with conspiracies, lies

“Sham-peachment,” they say, and warn that “corporate America helped rig the election.” They call former president Donald Trump a “savior” who was robbed of a second term — despite no evidence — and President Joe Biden, a “thief.” “Patriots want answers,” they declare.

A faction of local, county and state Republican officials across the country is pushing lies, misinformation and conspiracy theories online that echo those that helped inspire the deadly U.S. Capitol insurrection. Garance Burke, Martha Mendoza, Juliet Linderman and Larry Fenn have this exclusive story worthy of your time.

These GOP officials’ posts are being amplified by algorithms that boost extreme content, allowing the officials to grow their bases on social media and exert outsize sway on their communities, city councils, county boards and state assemblies.

The AP reviewed social media accounts of nearly 1,000 federal, state and local elected and appointed Republican officials. The rhetoric exposes the party’s internal struggle over whether it can include traditional conservative politicians, conspiracy theorists and militias.

VIDEO: Conspiracy theories and lies drive rift within GOP. 

EXPLAINER: What were the intelligence warnings before the Capitol riot?

AP PHOTO/SALVATORE ALLEGRA

Italy’s Volcanic Eruptions

Explainer: Mount Etna puts on its latest spectacular show

Mount Etna, the volcano that towers over eastern Sicily in Italy, evokes superlatives.

It is Europe’s most active volcano and also the continent’s largest.

And the fiery, noisy show of power it puts on for days or weeks, even years, every so often, is always nothing short of spectacular.

Fortunately, Etna’s latest eruption captivating the world’s attention has caused neither injuries nor evacuation.

But each time it roars back into dramatic action, it wows onlookers and awes geologists who spend their careers monitoring its every quiver, rumble and belch.

VIDEO: Italy’s Mount Etna keeps belching lava and rocks.

WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW

On Feb. 16, Etna erupted, sending up high fountains of lava, which rolled down the mountain’s eastern slope. The activity has been continuing since, in bursts more or less intense. The flaming lava lights up the night sky in shocking hues of orange and red. There’s no telling how long this round of exciting activity will last, say volcanologists.

LIVING UNDER A VOLCANO

With Etna’s lava flows largely contained to its uninhabited slopes, life goes in towns and villages elsewhere on the mountain. Sometimes, like in recent days, lava stones rain down on streets, bounce off cars and rattle roofs.

IT’S BEEN DEADLY IN THE PAST

Inspiring ancient Greek legends, Etna has had scores of known eruptions in its history. An eruption in 396 B.C. has been credited with keeping the army of Carthage at bay.

In 1669, in what has been considered the volcano’s worst known eruption, lava buried a swath of Catania, about 23 kilometers (15 miles) away and devastated dozens of villages.

An eruption in 1928 cut off a rail route circling the mountain’s base. More recently, in 1983, dynamite was used to divert lava threatening inhabited areas.

Other Top Stories

Amnesty report describes Axum massacre in Ethiopia’s Tigray

A new Amnesty International report says soldiers from Eritrea systematically killed “many hundreds” of people, the large majority men, in a massacre in late November in the Ethiopian city of Axum. The report echoes the findings of an AP story last week and cites more than 40 witnesses. The new report on what might be the deadliest massacre of Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict describes soldiers gunning down civilians as they fled, lining up men and shooting them in the back, and refusing to allow people to collect and bury the dead. Ethiopia has not commented. Eritrea called the AP story “lies.”

US Olympics gymnastics coach kills himself after being charged

A former U.S. Olympic gymnastics coach with ties to disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar has killed himself in Michigan. John Geddert died after being charged with two dozen crimes, including human trafficking. Geddert was supposed to appear in court. His body was found at a rest area. Earlier, Geddert was accused of turning his elite Lansing-area gym into a criminal enterprise by coercing girls to train there and then abusing them. Geddert also was charged with lying to investigators about Nassar, who is serving decades in prison for sexual assault.

Native American nominee’s grilling by GOP senators raises questions on bias

The confirmation hearing for Deb Haaland has raised questions about whether she’s being treated differently because she is a Native American woman. She would become the first Native American to lead the U.S. Interior Department.

Some Republican, white senators have labeled Haaland as “radical” over her calls to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and address climate change. Those who support the Democratic congresswoman from New Mexico say Haaland is being attacked for her ethnicity and beliefs that are widespread among Native Americans. Republicans expressed frustration at her lack of specifics during the hearing and claim it’s not about race.

Tiger Woods transferred to LA hospital after surgery

Tiger Woods has been moved to another Los Angeles hospital after undergoing surgery to his right leg that was badly injured in a car crash. Harbor-UCLA Medical Center said Woods was transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for “continuing orthopedic care and recovery.” Cedars-Sinai has a renowned Sports Medicine Institute and a rehabilitation program. Woods was hurt Tuesday when an SUV he was driving struck a raised median in a coastal LA suburb, crossed into oncoming lanes and flipped several times. The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department says there wasn’t any evidence that Woods was impaired by drugs or alcohol.

We’ll leave you with this…

Rarely seen Van Gogh painting capturing Parisian neighborhood — “Street Scene in Montmartre” — exhibited ahead of auction.