The US is to deploy hundreds of unarmed National Guard troops to Washington ahead of the arrival of trucker convoys protesting against pandemic restrictions. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved a request from the District of Columbia government and the US Capitol police for 700 troops. Around 25 separate convoys plan to join forces and converge on the nation’s capital, to replicate recent protests in Canada. The stand-off there paralysed Ottawa for days. The National Guard troops will man traffic posts and “provide command and control” from Saturday until 7 March, a statement said. Some 50 “large tactical vehicles” will be stationed 24 hours a day, it added. The troops will not carry firearms or take part in law enforcement.(BBC)…[+]