Wednesday Briefing: U.S. reports nearly 1 million COVID-19 cases in a day, setting global record

The Reuters Daily Briefing Wednesday, January 5, 2022 by Linda Noakes Hello Here's what you need to know. The Kazakhstan government's resignation fails to quell riots, North Korea fires a suspected ballistic missile, and France's Macron says he wants to 'piss off' the non-vaccinated Today's biggest stories A nurse prepares to enter the room of a COVID patient in the Intensive Care Unit at Western Reserve Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, U.S., January 4, 2022. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton COVID-19 The United States reported nearly 1 million new coronavirus infections, the highest daily tally of any country in the world and nearly double the previous U.S. peak set a week ago as the spread of the Omicron variant showed no signs of slowing. Australia's daily COVID-19 cases hit a record high for the third consecutive day, further straining hospital resources and testing facilities as public anger grows over the handling of the Omicron outbreak. Hong Kong announced a two-week ban on incoming flights from eight countries and tightened local COVID-19 restrictions as authorities feared a fifth wave of coronavirus in the city. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that England could withstand a surge in COVID-19 infections without shutting down the economy as Britain reported another record daily high in cases. The French parliament suspended debate on a new COVID-19 law as opposition lawmakers demanded explanations from President Emmanuel Macron about comments in which he said he wanted to "piss off" unvaccinated people. The new legislation will make it mandatory for people to show proof of vaccination to enter a restaurant or cinema, or take the train. WORLD Protesters stormed public buildings in Kazakhstan's biggest city as security forces struggled to impose control after the government resigned in response to popular anger over a fuel price increase. North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile off its east coast, just hours before South Korean President Moon Jae-in attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a rail line he hopes will eventually connect the divided Korean peninsula. The European Union's top diplomat visited the frontline of Ukraine's war with Russian-backed forces, in what Kyiv welcomed as a show of solidarity against the threat of a major new military confrontation with Moscow. Taiwan air force jets screamed into the sky in a drill simulating a war scenario, showing its combat readiness amid heightened military tensions with China, which claims the island as its own. French prosecutors said they had opened a terrorism investigation into an explosion that went off under a French vehicle involved in the Dakar rally in Saudi Arabia. The blast seriously injured one of the rally competitors. U.S. The U.S. House of Representatives panel probing the deadly attack on the Capitol in January 2021 wants to question Fox News host Sean Hannity about his text messages with former President Donald Trump, his aides and lawyers from that time. President Joe Biden will mark the one-year anniversary of the Capitol assault with a speech tomorrow warning of the threats to democracy, while Trump abandoned plans for a news conference that day as he reprised his attacks on Democrats and the media. Democrats' efforts to pass voting rights legislation in Congress appeared in jeopardy, as centrist Democratic senator Joe Manchin said he had little interest in a strategy that would allow the party to bypass Republican opposition. A U.S. judge appeared skeptical of a bid by Britain's Prince Andrew to dismiss Virginia Giuffre's lawsuit accusing the Duke of York of sexually abusing her when she was 17 and being trafficked by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Rescue crews in Virginia finished freeing the last of the travelers stranded overnight on a snowed-in highway, ending a crisis that had trapped thousands of people including U.S. Senator Tim Kaine. BUSINESS China Evergrande Group will seek a six-month delay in the redemption and coupon payments of a $157 million bond in a meeting with bond holders this weekend, underscoring the pressure on the debt-laden property developer. Walmart said it plans to hire more than 3,000 U.S. delivery drivers and build out a fleet of all-electric delivery vans to support its "in-home" grocery delivery service, its latest investment in its last-mile fulfillment network. Allegiant Air is poised to order 50 Boeing 737 MAX jets worth $5 billion at list prices, people familiar with the matter said, rejecting offers by traditional supplier Airbus as the no-frills carrier seeks to capture a boom in post-pandemic U.S. tourism. Japan's Sony plans to launch a company this spring to examine entering the electric vehicle market, looking to harness its strengths in entertainment and sensors to play a bigger role in next-generation mobility. John Deere & Co said it will start commercial delivery this year of technology that enables a tractor to till a field without an operator in the cab, a first for the top North American tractor manufacturer after years of effort to automate farm work. Quote of the day "There should be no special rules for Novak Djokovic at all. None whatsoever" Prime Minister Scott Morrison Djokovic flying into vaccine exemption storm in Australia Video of the day Seed-dropping drone can plant 40,000 trees a day The device combines drone technology, artificial intelligence and special seed pods designed to be fired into the ground from the air. And finally… Thailand allows visitors back to beach made famous by movie Thailand has reopened Maya Bay, a white sand beach made famous by the 2000 film 'The Beach' starring Leonardo DiCaprio, more than three years after closing it to allow its ecosystem to recover from the impact of thousands of visitors each day. More from Reuters COVID-19 The Great Reboot Disrupted Legal News Breakingviews Thanks for spending part of your day with us. Share your thoughts You are receiving this email because you signed up for newsletters from Reuters. No longer want to hear from us? Unsubscribe from The Reuters Daily Briefing. Terms, conditions, and privacy statement © 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036