Tuesday Briefing: U.S. puts troops on alert as Ukraine tensions rise

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

by Linda Noakes

Hello

Here's what you need to know.

A New York judge strikes down the state's mask mandate, UK police are investigating alleged lockdown breaches in Downing Street, and a power blackout hits central Asia

Today's biggest stories

Flags of Russia and the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic wave in the wind near a monument to Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin in the rebel-held city of Donetsk, Ukraine January 24, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

WORLD

Russia said it was watching with great concern after the United States put 8,500 troops on alert to be ready to deploy to Europe in case of an escalation in the Ukraine crisis. Here's where NATO forces are deployed.

British police will investigate alleged lockdown breaches at Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Downing Street residence after receiving evidence from an internal government probe into a series of gatherings. Here's a timeline of the lockdown party allegations facing Johnson.

More than 1,000 people gathered in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou in support of a coup that ousted President Roch Kabore, dissolved government, suspended the constitution and closed borders.

The central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan suffered electrical power outages in major cities, according to authorities and residents, after a major power line in Kazakhstan was disconnected.

Flights were suspended for a second day at Istanbul Airport and private vehicles were barred from city streets, as heavy snowfall snarled traffic and left people stranded in Turkey's biggest city and across the country. Rescue crews, including the army, worked through the night to evacuate thousands of people stranded in their cars on an Athens motorway after a severe snowstorm swept across Greece.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, January 24, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

U.S.

A New York judge struck down the state's mask mandate, one week before it was due to expire, ruling the governor overstepped her authority in imposing a rule that needed to have been passed by the state legislature.

A U.S. court rejected the Alabama legislature's redrawn congressional district map for November elections, saying it likely violated the Voting Rights Act and stood to deny Black voters an additional representative.

The Georgia prosecutor investigating then-President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state will be allowed to seat a special grand jury to subpoena witnesses to testify against him. Meanwhile, we look at how Pro-Trump death threats have prompted bills in three states to protect election workers.

Trump is nowhere to be seen in Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate race, but he nonetheless is shaping the election as Republican candidates vie for his support and the state party considers skipping an endorsement to avoid being at odds with him.

President Joe Biden was caught on a hot mic cursing a Fox News reporter at a White House event after the journalist shouted a question about the impact of rising inflation on this year's congressional elections.

BUSINESS

Wild swings in stocks are testing the resolve of investors employing one of Wall Street’s most popular strategies: buying the dip. The S&P 500 reversed a deep selloff yesterday to finish up 0.3%, after the benchmark index crossed into correction territory, while the Nasdaq flirted with a bear market before also finishing higher, suggesting that dip buyers have not gone extinct despite big declines in stocks in the first weeks of 2022.

Chinese fashion retailer SHEIN is reviving plans to list in New York this year and its founder is considering a citizenship change to bypass proposed tougher rules for offshore IPOs in China, two people familiar with the matter said.

Credit Suisse warned that it would post a fourth-quarter loss as the scandal-hit lender flagged fresh legal costs and said business in its trading and wealth management divisions had slowed. Switzerland's second-largest lender announced plans in November to rein in its investment bankers and plough money into looking after the fortunes of the world's rich as it tries to curb a freewheeling culture that has cost it billions.

Sweden's Ericsson reported fourth-quarter core earnings above market estimates, helped by higher sales of telecoms gear as more countries roll out 5G networks, offsetting a loss of market share in mainland China. Once a big market for Ericsson, the loss of telecom contracts in China following Sweden's ban on Huawei brought the contribution from the country to the low single digits.

Unilever unveiled plans to cut about 1,500 management jobs in a restructuring aimed at easing shareholders' concerns after a failed takeover bid and reports an activist investor had built a stake in the consumer goods giant. Here's a timeline of Unilever's soap opera.

Quote of the day

"The monarchy and the queen are synonymous for most people. Once we're past the end of the queen's reign, all bets are off as to where public opinion is going to go"

Graham Smith

Chief executive of anti-monarchy group Republic

Royal crown slips as Elizabeth prepares to mark 70 years as queen

Video of the day

Japanese artist makes super-realistic cats

The eyeballs are made from glass, the ears are made from tiny pieces of wool felt, and each cat can take up to a month to finish.

And finally…

Your own CIA jail? Lithuania to sell secret U.S. 'rendition' site

Washington's so-called 'rendition programme', under which suspected Islamist militants from conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq were spirited to jails outside U.S. jurisdiction, remains shrouded in secrecy more than a decade after it ended.

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