▪️Austria introduces 20-day isolation for the entire population from Monday and makes vaccination mandatory from February 2022.
▪️The Parliament of Ukraine has adopted a law allowing border guards to use military equipment, firearms and physical force.
▪️The deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil increased by 22 percent over the year and reached the highest level in the last 15 years.
▪️Various sources report a powerful explosion in Donetsk, Eastern Ukraine.
▪️The next coronavirus may come from rats: rodents may be asymptomatic carriers of viruses similar to SARS, according to a new British study.
▪️Vice President Kamala Harris’ communications director, Ashley Etienne, abruptly leaves the administration after reports of tension between West Wing aides and the vice President’s office.
▪️Merkel says that the fourth wave of infections is coming, as daily cases in Germany allegedly reach a record high of 65,000 people.
▪️Germany introduces new restrictions for unvaccinated people: participation in public life will be limited based on the “level of hospitalization”.
German Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is expected to succeed Merkel: “In order to survive the winter, we will see radical measures that have not been taken before.”
▪️Apple plans to launch a fully self-driving car in 2025.
▪️Biden’s approval rating has fallen to a record low of 36% in a new poll.
▪️The FBI and CDC are investigating “questionable vials” of smallpox samples found in a research laboratory in Pennsylvania.
▪️Biden’s $1.8 trillion “Build Back Better” program will increase the U.S. deficit by 367 billion over ten years, according to the CBO. The White House also claims that “Build Back Better” will reduce the deficit by 112 billion over the next decade.
▪️White House press Secretary Psaki says that “nothing has changed – businesses must continue to operate,” despite two court orders halting the federal vaccination mandate.
▪️The Turkish lira is in free fall, now it is above 11 for 1 US dollar.
▪️The Turkish lira fell to a record low after the country’s central bank cut the weekly repo rate by 100 basis points: to 15%.
▪️The Pentagon Inspector General questions the report of the former commander of the D.C. Guard for January 6.
General Walker twice received instructions from the Pentagon leadership to send troops to the Capitol on the day of the “assault”, but did not do so at Pelosi’s request. Three weeks later, she appointed him Sergeant of the House of Representatives.
▪️The US nuclear weapons may end up in Eastern Europe if Germany refuses to deploy them on its territory, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said.
▪️The FDA may allow Moderna boosters for all adults as early as this week.
▪️Hackers linked to the Iranian government have attacked a “wide range of victims” in the United States, including by distributing ransomware, according to a recommendation issued on Wednesday by American, British and Australian officials.