| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Wednesday, February 16, 2022 by Rossalyn Warren | Hello Here's what you need to know. Russia shares a video claiming to show its tanks leaving Crimea, UK inflation climbs to highest since 1992 at 5.5%, and sea levels in the U.S. expected to rise up to a foot over the next 30 years due to climate change. | | | | | Today's biggest stories  A view shows a freight train transporting Russian military vehicles, which leave the Crimean peninsula towards the Russian mainland along a railway bridge across the Kerch Strait, in this still image taken from video released February 16, 2022. Russian Defence Ministry/REUTERS WORLD Russia has published a video that it said showed tanks and military vehicles leaving annexed Crimea across a railway bridge, adding that some troops would also return to their permanent bases.
But Britain has joined the United States in saying it had yet to be convinced Russia’s pullout from Ukraine is real, with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg saying while a pullout would be welcome, moving troops did not confirm it.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s defense ministry says an unprecedented cyber attack is into its second day, targeting its online network and that of two banks.
On Mexico’s southern border, a dozen undocumented migrants sewed their mouths shut in a desperate attempt to convince the country's immigration agency to open access to the U.S. border.
The short shelf life of AstraZeneca Covid vaccine is complicating the rollout to the world's poorest nations, adding another challenge to the COVAX vaccine-sharing project, aimed at getting shots to those in need. Millions of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines could also go wasted, some African countries warned.
The European Union's top court has dismissed a Polish and Hungarian challenge to a new sanction that would cut funding to member countries which violate democratic rights and freedoms. Poland and Hungary accuse the EU of imposing liberal values that stand against their conservative and Catholic societies.
And with the news Britain's Prince Andrew settled a civil lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre accusing the prince of sexually abusing her when she was 17, we recap what we know about the settlement and what the dispute means for Andrew.
|  Francine Wheeler, mother of Benjamin Wheeler, a Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim, shows a locket with his picture as she poses for a portrait following a press conference to announce a settlement with Remington Arms in Trumbull, Connecticut, U.S., February 15, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri U.S. A new study has found sea levels around the United States will rise up to a foot over the next 30 years due to climate change, as much as they have risen in the previous century.
The gunmaker Remington Arms will pay $73 million to the families of five children and four adults killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. The decision marks the first time a gunmaker has agreed to a major settlement over a mass shooting in the United States.
The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Dr. Robert Califf as commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Despite his confirmation, his nomination by President Joe Biden was opposed by five of Biden's fellow Democrats, some of whom argued his ties to the pharmaceutical industry made him unfit for the role.
Republicans boycotted a key vote for the Federal Reserve over objections to Sarah Bloom Raskin, the White House's pick to be the central bank's Wall Street regulator. Raskin has been criticized by Republicans over her past statements expressing support for using financial rules to police climate change.
And the American journalist, political satirist and best-selling author P.J. O'Rourke has died at the age of 74. O’Rourke was described as “one of the major voices of his generation.”
| BUSINESS In the UK, the annual rate of consumer price inflation rose to 5.5% in January, the fastest annual pace in nearly 30 years. The data suggests there's a strong chance that the Bank of England will raise interest rates for a third meeting in a row in March.
Elsewhere, China's inflation eased to its slowest pace in six months. The producer price index increased 9.1% from a year ago, slower than the 9.5% growth tipped by a Reuters poll and a 10.3% gain in December. It was the weakest pace since July.
Shein, the Chinese fashion firm, is aggressively expanding its office in Singapore and making a Singapore firm its de facto holding company. These developments are in line with previous reports that suggest Shein plans to list in New York this year, and are looking for a change in citizenship to bypass tougher Chinese rules for offshore IPOs.
Heineken, the world's second-largest brewer, has cast doubt on its mid-term profit margin target due to the uncertain impact of spiralling inflation on beer consumption. Though the brewer reported stronger than expected earnings in 2021, it said the Covid pandemic would still affect 2022 revenue.
And finally, top Indonesian economic officials have backed the expanded use of local currencies in trade and investment, instead of the U.S. dollar, to help maintain stability in global financial markets as pandemic-era stimulus is withdrawn. | | | | | | | | | Video of the day  U.S. avocado blockade leaves restaurants scrambling The U.S. decision to halt imports of Mexican avocados is piling on new pressure on restaurants, already weary after pandemic restrictions and supply chain issues of the past two years. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
