Even as tensions are brewing between US and Russia over the Ukraine crisis, it is being reported that President Joe Biden is in talks with natural gas suppliers around the globe should Russia cut off energy supplies to Europe as a consequence of the conflict. In other news, China has vowed to ”purge” the internet ahead of the Lunar New Year and Winter Olympics.
Click on headlines to read more
US negotiating with global suppliers to secure gas for Europe if Russia invades Ukraine: Report
US officials on Tuesday said that they had been negotiating with global suppliers for additional volumes of non-Russian fuel. The US and Europe had threatened to impose political and economic sanctions on Russia if it attempts to invade Ukraine. But Kremlin has not overtly discussed the retaliatory measures it would take to counter the sanctions.
Ahead of Lunar New Year and Winter Olympics, China vows to ‘purge’ internet
The move expands the crackdown on the internet sector in China, as regulators seek to strengthen data privacy and consumer rights and curtail anti-competitive practices in order to curb the outsized influence of technology companies.
Highest COVID-19 cases since beginning of pandemic recorded last week: WHO
The World Health Organization said there were 21 million new coronavirus cases reported globally last week. The United Nations health agency said the number of new coronavirus infections rose by 5 per cent.
Apple gets restraining order against woman claiming to be Tim Cook’s wife
The woman has been claiming to be Cook’s wife and even claiming that he had twin children with him. The company further said that between October 2020 and November 2020, she mailed Cook 200 times. The tone gradually became ‘threatening’.
Don’t condemn gay children, Pope Francis urges parents
Pope Francis has previously said that gay children had a right to be accepted by their families as children and siblings. He has also said that while the Church cannot accept same-sex marriage it can support civil union laws aimed at giving gay partners joint rights in areas of pensions and health care and inheritance issues
Partygate: Boris Johnson bracing for impact of Sue Gray report
Gray, described as an iron-willed enforcer of probity in government, has been investigating revelations that Downing Street staff held frequent parties over the past two years while the rest of the country was in lockdown. Opposition parties are insisting full publication of the report.
More than 90 ‘potential’ graves of Indigenous kids unearthed at Canada school
The Williams Lake First Nation— a community of around 800 Indigenous people—on Tuesday said that the preliminary results of the first phase of a geophysical search at St Joseph Mission Residential School unearthed 93 “reflections” with characteristics “indicative of potential human burials”.
Hospital denies heart transplant to patient who refused to receive Covid vaccine
His father has been quoted as saying that Covid vaccination is against his son’s basic principles. He said that his son does not believe in Covid vaccination. His heart transplant surgery was to take place in Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston. But now, the hospital is refusing to carry out the procedure.
Under fire, Dutch PM eases Covid restrictions despite rising cases
Cafes, bars and restaurants will be allowed to open until 10 pm, though to gain entry patrons will be required to show a negative test result, prove they are vaccinated or have recently recovered from a coronavirus infection. Nightclubs will remain closed, and capacity at sporting and cultural events will be limited to 1,250 people.
Shorter hospitalisations, fewer deaths in Omicron wave: US study
A study in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality weekly report said that hospitalisations was 29 per cent less than last winter’s virus surge in the United States and considerably lower at 26 per cent during the Delta wave.
