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Zelenskiy takes his pitch for weapons to Brussels, the earthquake in Syria offers leverage to isolated Assad, and Alphabet shares dive after Google AI chatbot Bard flubs an answer

by Linda Noakes

World News

Children sit in a car after their house was destroyed in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, February 9, 2023

The death toll from earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria neared 16,000, as hopes faded of many people being found alive 72 hours since the disaster. Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan is facing a crescendo of criticism over his response, while Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is pressing for foreign aid to be delivered through his territory as he aims to chip away at his international isolation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy received a standing ovation from the European Parliament in Brussels, where he called for more weapons to fend off Russia's invasion and a quick start to talks for his country to join the EU. As the anniversary of Russia's invasion approaches, we report on how a band of Ukrainian civilians helped seal Russia's biggest defeat.
Nuclear-armed North Korea showcased its missile production muscle during a nighttime parade, state media reported, displaying more intercontinental ballistic missiles than ever before and hinting at a new solid-fuel weapon.
The world should "calm down" about the possibility of new COVID-19 variants circulating in China, leading Chinese scientist George Gao said. A paper by Gao and colleagues published in the Lancet medical journal showed that no new variants had emerged in the initial weeks of China's recent outbreak.
Residents of Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, are being asked to prepare for further bad weather as a system described as potentially "the most serious storm to impact New Zealand this century" is forecast to hit in coming days.

U.S. News

President Joe Biden takes a selfie after delivering remarks on his economic priorities at a Laborers' International Union of North America training center in DeForest, Wisconsin, February 8, 2023

President Joe Biden will travel to Florida today to push his argument that only Democrats will protect Social Security and Medicare, and try to boost his chances of winning the battleground state that has moved to Republicans in recent years.
Four previous Chinese spy balloon flights over the United States passed over sites that would be of interest to Beijing, the Pentagon said, without elaborating on whether they passed over military bases.
The House of Representatives voted to end a requirement that most foreign air travelers be vaccinated against COVID-19, one of the few remaining pandemic travel restrictions still in place.
Southwest Airlines and its pilot union will offer sharply contrasting reasons for the low-cost carrier's meltdown in December that disrupted travel plans for two million customers, ahead of a Senate committee hearing today.
A group of 34 Republican senators said they would seek to overturn Environmental Protection Agency rules that aim to drastically cut smog- and soot-forming emissions from heavy-duty trucks.

Business & Markets

Jamie Dimon, chairman of the board and CEO of JPMorgan, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Miami, Florida, February 8, 2023

The chief executive of JPMorgan cautioned against declaring victory over inflation too early, warning the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates above the 5% mark if higher prices ended up "sticky." In a wide-ranging interview with Reuters, Jamie Dimon also warned stricter regulation of credit card fees could prompt lenders to extend less credit.
Alphabet lost $100 billion in market value after its new chatbot shared inaccurate information in a promotional video and a company event failed to dazzle, feeding worries that the Google parent is losing ground to rival Microsoft.
Walt Disney announced a sweeping restructuring under recently reinstated CEO Bob Iger, cutting 7,000 jobs as part of an effort to save $5.5 billion in costs and make its streaming business profitable.
Credit Suisse reported its worst annual loss since the 2008 global financial crisis after rattled clients fled in droves, and warned that a further "substantial" loss would come this year.
Toyota posted a surprise 22% rise in third-quarter operating profit, as a weaker yen and higher sales volumes helped the world's top automaker overcome a jolt from the soaring costs of raw materials.
Financial index provider MSCI said that some Adani securities should no longer be designated as free float, after market participants raised concerns about the eligibility of the Indian conglomerate's companies for some of its indexes.

And Finally

An illustration shows Quaoar surrounded by its newly discovered ring, along with its moon Weywot

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