UK reports nearly 120,000 daily Covid cases
- Before 15 December, the UK had never reported more than 70,000 cases in a day. That has now happened for nine days in a row
- New daily case records have been set on five of the past nine days, including the past two days
- Today's number of infections is more than 52% higher than the record set on 15 December
The number of coronavirus cases in the UK has increased by 235,787 - or 53.3% - in the last seven days, compared to the previous week, according to the government figures.
The number of daily deaths reported has decreased by 2.4% in the last seven days, compared to the previous week.
But it's worth remembering that it usually takes time for hospital admissions and deaths to increase after cases start to rise. And it's only been a few weeks since the first Omicron cases were identified in the UK.
Intel apologises to China over Xinjiang products and labour directive
US chipmaker responds to backlash after telling its suppliers to avoid region at centre of human rights abuse allegations
The US chipmaker Intel has apologised for telling its suppliers not to source products or labour from Xinjiang, a province that human rights groups and governments including the US allege uses forced labour, after facing a backlash across China.
Intel, which derives more than a quarter of its $80bn (£60bn) in annual revenues from the Chinese market, apologised to the people of China and its local partners on Thursday for telling suppliers to avoid the region in accordance with restrictions imposed by “multiple governments”.
“We apologise for the trouble caused to our respected Chinese customers, partners and the public,” Intel said in a post on the social media site WeChat, hours after its annual letter to suppliers was made public, prompting fury across China. “To clarify, the paragraph about Xinjiang in the letter is only for expressing the original intention of compliance and legality, not its intention or position.”
Putin urges West to act quickly to offer security guarantees to Russia
Autocrat reiterates his insistence that Nato must not expand to include Kiev
Vladimir Putin has urged the West to move quickly to meet Russia's demand for security guarantees precluding Nato's expansion to Ukraine and the deployment of the military alliance's weapons there.
Speaking during a marathon annual news conference on Tuesday, the Russian president welcomed talks with the US that are set to start in Geneva next month, but warned the discussion focused on Moscow’s demand needs to produce quick results.
“We want to ensure our security,” Mr Putin said. “We put it straight: there must be no further expansion of Nato eastward.”
Germany: Anti-COVID measures protest of 5,000 turns violent
At least one officer was injured and 11 demonstrators were arrested in an unofficial rally in Munich as police described the behavior of protesters as "aggressive."
Thousands of people demonstrated against coronavirus measures in the southern German city of Munich on Wednesday, with police reporting that many participants displayed aggressive behavior toward officers.
Altogether 11 people were arrested, and 14 criminal incidents were reported, including the display of insignia from unconstitutional organizations and violent resistance. At least one officer was badly injured.
The reasons behind the delays in Libya's 'impossible' presidential vote
After days of uncertainty, Libyan authorities have postponed the presidential election just 48 hours before it was set to begin on December 24. A new date in January looks unlikely to be approved, leaving the country paralysed by tensions between rival groups who disagree on electoral law.
Few will be surprised that Libya’s presidential elections have been postponed two days before they were set to take place on December 24.
Yet as the timeline for organising the vote became increasingly unrealistic, authorities seemed unwilling to confirm the news. It fell to the country’s High National Electoral Commission (HNEC) to “suggest” on December 22 that the vote be pushed back by one month to January 24.
CNN Exclusive: US intel and satellite images show Saudi Arabia is now building its own ballistic missiles with help of China
Updated 1334 GMT (2134 HKT) December 23, 2021
US intelligence agencies have assessed that Saudi Arabia is now actively manufacturing its own ballistic missiles with the help of China, CNN has learned, a development that could have significant ripple effects across the Middle East and complicate the Biden administration's efforts to restrain the nuclear ambitions of Iran, the Saudis' top regional rival.
No comments:
Post a Comment