Thursday Briefing: Russia starts Belarus military drills amid new diplomacy on Ukraine

Thursday, February 10, 2022

by Linda Noakes

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Here's what you need to know.

Britain's Johnson warns of the 'most dangerous moment' in the Ukraine crisis, how a Trump deal got a boost from a China-based financier, and Credit Suisse ends a torrid year with a $2.2 billion quarterly loss

Today's biggest stories

A Ukrainian service member guards an area as dogs look on in the government-held town of Avdiyivka in Donetsk region, February 9, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

WORLD

Russia started the active phase of military drills in Belarus as Britain launched new diplomacy in a standoff over Ukraine, warning Moscow that going to war with its neighbor would be disastrous for Russia, Ukraine and Europe. Britain ordered 1,000 troops to be on a state of readiness to provide support in the event of a humanitarian crisis caused by any Russian aggression.

Russian figure skating sensation Kamila Valieva showed up for her scheduled practice at the Beijing Olympics after Russian media reported the 15-year-old had tested positive for a banned substance. The teenager was part of the Russian Olympic Committee ensemble that won the figure skating team event on Monday, ahead of the United States and Japan.

The business impact from U.S.-Canada border closures is bringing fresh urgency to Canadian authorities' efforts to quell the two-week-old protests against the government's pandemic measures, even as the national capital Ottawa sees early signs of a return to normalcy. Ottawa's anti-vaccine mandate protests are spreading globally - with New Zealand and France the latest flashpoints.

Salah Abdeslam, a self-avowed Islamic State combatant, told a court that he had backed out of detonating his explosive vest during the jihadist rampage across Paris in November 2015 that killed 130 people.

Assailants struck Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah's car with bullets but he escaped unharmed, a source close to him said, amid intense factional wrangling over control of the government. We profile Dbeibah - the ambitious politician who promised not to be.

A person who poses for photos for tips walks through Times Square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, February 9, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

U.S.

The governors of New York and Massachusetts announced that they would end certain mask mandates in their states, joining a growing list of U.S. state leaders planning to lift face-covering rules as the latest COVID-19 surge eases.

A China-based financier, once reprimanded by U.S. regulators and barred from taking his company public, played a bigger role than is publicly known in the shell company that agreed to merge with former President Donald Trump’s new social media venture, Reuters has learned.

Seven predominately Black schools in Washington were evacuated over bomb threats and later cleared, including a high school that was threatened a day earlier during a visit by Vice President Kamala Harris' husband.

The former New York Times editor who oversaw the 2017 editorial underlying Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit against the newspaper denied trying to blame the prominent Republican for the 2011 mass shooting that seriously wounded former U.S. congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

The Boy Scouts of America won pivotal support from a committee representing sexual abuse victims for a $2.7 billion settlement of their claims against the youth organization as it seeks to emerge from bankruptcy, according to a court filing.

BUSINESS

Credit Suisse capped a scandal-ridden year with a $2.2 billion quarterly loss and said 2022 earnings would be weighed down by restructuring and compensation costs.

Unilever warned of a hit to profit margins this year as it struggles to pass on higher costs to consumers, and ruled out big acquisitions following recent investor criticism of its failed pursuit of GlaxoSmithKline's consumer health business.

AstraZeneca forecast higher 2022 sales and raised its annual dividend for the first time in a decade on Thursday after beating fourth-quarter profit expectations, but warned the boost from its COVID-19 products would fall.

TotalEnergies swung back to profit in 2021 thanks to surging oil and gas prices, and announced a $2 billion share buyback scheme, an increase in dividends and a series of investments.

Siemens saw a boom in first-quarter orders, the German engineering and technology group said, sending its shares sharply higher. Orders surged 52% as demand increased after the pandemic slowdown.

WINTER OLYMPICS

See our full coverage of the Beijing Games

Strolz follows in dad's footsteps with fairytale combined gold

Quote of the day

"If we can maintain fusion for five seconds, we can do it for five minutes and then five hours"

Tony Donne

Programme manager of the EUROfusion group

European scientists set nuclear fusion energy record

Video of the day

Back in school at 98, Kenyan woman sets example for next generation

In a stone classroom in rural Kenya's Rift Valley, Priscilla Sitienei takes notes alongside fellow pupils who are all more than eight decades younger than her.

And finally…

'Astronomically' high demand leads to surging Super Bowl ticket prices

A perfect storm of factors is fueling sky high prices for Super Bowl tickets as fans clamor to be a part of Sunday's championship game in Los Angeles.

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