What's great about this fight right from the start is how well Usopp controls things through knowing Luffy so well. Luffy's headstrong approach to attacking his enemies doesn't work on Usopp, as each attempt leads to the rubber man falling for another one of Usopp's traps. But the sad part is that this is still not enough to close the gap. The Nationalist Chinese forces in the region, following the government's policy of nonresistance, refused to fight, allowing the Japanese to occupy much of the province. Unable to divert forces from battling the Communists and warlords, Chiang Kai-shek sought aid from the international community and the League of Nations.

Alexandra Foster explains who will get the COVID-19 vaccine first and when

Australians will receive their coronavirus vaccinations as planned. Picture: Stefan Wermuth / AFPSource:AFP

Australia’s vaccine rollout has edged closer after the European Commission formally approved the first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine.

The European Union (EU) ambassador to Australia confirmed this week that Canberra’s order would not be impacted by the bloc’s stoush with vaccine manufacturers.

That pledge was rubber-stamped on Thursday, with Australia one of 23 countries the EU has confirmed shipments to, according to Bloomberg.

Trade Minister Dan Tehan said it was “fantastic news” the EU had kept its word, with the first vaccines to arrive as early as next week.

RELATED:EU won’t guarantee future Aussie vaccine supply

The European Commission has confirmed the first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine to Australia. Picture: Justin Tallis / AFPSource:AFP

Dan Tehan has welcomed the ‘fantastic’ news. Picture: Brendan RadkeSource:News Corp Australia

“It’s great news. They’ll arrive towards the end of February, and we’re absolutely on track to roll our vaccine program out,” he told Today.

“I met with the European Union ambassador last week and he reassured me that the vaccines would be arriving as they said they would be.

“It’s fantastic to get this extra news that’s the case.”

Mr Tehan confirmed the revelation means Australia’s vaccine rollout would begin at the end of the month, as scheduled.

“The countdown has started. We’ll be rolling the program out,” he said.

“We’re co-operating with the state and territory governments on the rollout, and people can be reassured that our vaccine rollout is on target.”

The Pfizer vaccine was approved in late January, and Labor leader Anthony Albanese accused the government of failing to prepare a speedy rollout.

Anthony Albanese has accused the government of leaving Australians waiting for the vaccine. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan PeledSource:News Corp Australia

“The vaccine is being rolled out around the world, including in Panama and Oman. Australians are still waiting,” he said on Thursday.

“We were told the vaccine will be rolled out in mid-February. It’s now February 11. The government needs to explain why it didn’t put in place the measures that Labor was calling.”

The EU in late January imposed export restrictions on vaccines produced within its territory, including the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs.

The move sparked fears Australia’s vaccine rollout could be delayed, with all 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine ordered by Canberra to be produced in the EU.

The stoush was prompted by AstraZeneca claiming it would only ship 40 per cent of the doses initially promised to the EU, citing production issues.

But the EU’s ambassador to Canberra, Michael Pulch, this week said Australia could “rely” on the bloc, confirming its first Pfizer batch would be unaffected.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has admitted failures in the EU’s vaccine rollout. Picture: Johanna Geron / POOL / AFPSource:AFP

He refused to rule out future orders of the vaccine being hit by the measures, which he insisted were designed “in order not to use them”.

The European Commission said it had approved all vaccine shipment requests since introducing the measures.

Over 26 million EU residents have been vaccinated since December.

But European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen conceded on Wednesday that the bloc was “not where we want to be” in its fight against COVID-19.

“We were late in granting authorisation. We were too optimistic about mass production,” she said.

“And maybe we also took for granted that the doses ordered would actually arrive on time.

“We must ask ourselves why, and what lessons we can draw from it.”

Mike Moore The Journal Gazette

Angola senior Hannah Knoll, left, guards Garrett junior Nataley Armstrong in the second quarter of the IHSAA girls 3A sectional championship in Garrett on Saturday.

Mike Moore The Journal Gazette

Garrett sophomore Bailey Kelham shoots the ball in the second quarter against Angola during the IHSAA Girls 3A Sectional Championship in Garrett on Saturday.

Mike Moore The Journal Gazette

Garrett junior Faith Owen looks to pass the ball in the second quarter against Angola on Saturday in Garrett.

Mike Moore The Journal Gazette

Angola senior Hannah Knoll shoots the ball in the first quarter against Garrett during the IHSAA Girls 3A Sectional Championship in Garrett on Saturday.

GARRETT – Angola and Garrett had already met twice this season, splitting the NECC regular-season title and the conference tournament title.

On Saturday night, Angola won the third and most consequential fight of year, 40-36, to claim the Garrett sectional championship and stay alive in the Class 3A state tournament.

“I think it feels pretty good,” Angola coach Nick Burlingame said. “Obviously they're a really good team and they've got a lot of talent. But so do we. It was kind of battle – whose conference is it? Whose sectional is it? Our girls stepped up and got it done tonight.”

Although the Hornets (19-5) jumped out to a 10-2 lead early in the first quarter, the tide seemed to turn midway through the first quarter. Garrett's Faith Owen hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 10-10, and a bucket by Morgan Ostrowski put the Railroaders (20-3) up 12-10.

The Hornets had the ball at the end of the first quarter, but failed to get a shot off. And the Angola slump continued well into the second quarter: a 3-pointer by Bailey Kelham put the Railroaders up 20-10, and Garrett was at that point on a 18-0 scoring streak.

Angola's Riley Pepple finally stemmed the bleeding with a 3-pointer, and in doing so ignited another run, this time for Angola, which scored nine straight points before Garrett's Taylor Gerke hit a free throw at the end of the half to give the Railroaders a 21-19 advantage heading into the locker room.

“Really, it was just keeping our heads in the game, keeping our composure, being tough through it. We knew they were going to go on a run. Waiting for the next play, that's what kept us going.” Angola senior Hanna Knoll said. “We honestly needed to get them in foul trouble, we needed to attack the basket and made sure we closed out on shooters, especially towards the end. With it being close, we needed to make sure we had a hand up.”

In the opening minutes of the second half, Angola's Megan Nisun quickly erased the narrow Garrett lead, tying the game at 21-21, and a 3-pointer by Kylie Caswell put Angola back in the lead.

Kelham hit two more 3-pointers, including one from the corner right before the 3rd quarter buzzer that put her Railroaders up 29-27. But she would foul out with 5:41 to play, just moments after Angola's Nisun picked up her fifth. Without Kelham in the game, the Railroaders hit just one field goal in the fourth quarter, and their five made free throws wasn't enough to hold off the Hornets.

Knoll led all scorers with 16 points, while Kelham scored 15 for Garrett and Nataley Armstrong had 13 for the Railroaders.

The Hornets are now set to face Norwell (21-6), who beat Bellmont 41-35 to win their sectional on their home court on Saturday. The regional semifinal will be held at Bellmont next Saturday at 10 a.m.

vjacobsen@jg.net

Share this article

Rubber Fighting Knife

Rubber Glove Fight Club