Ukraine is sharpening its accusation that Iran played a sinister role in the 2020 shootdown of a Ukrainian passenger plane over Tehran as the world marks the second anniversary of the tragedy.

“What happened on January 8th, 2020, was a terrorist act committed against a civilian aircraft,” Oleksiy Danilov, Ukraine’s National Defense and Security Council secretary, said Wednesday in an exclusive interview with VOA Persian.

Danilov also expressed frustration with what he said was Iran’s refusal to cooperate in investigating and providing compensation for the downing of Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752.

Iran has acknowledged firing missiles that struck the plane and killed all 176 people on board, but it called the incident an accident and blamed it on a misaligned air defense system and human error by the missile operators. The plane had taken off from Tehran minutes earlier, carrying mostly Iranians and Iranian Canadians who were flying to Kyiv en route to Canada.

The Iranian forces who shot down the Ukrainian plane had been on alert for a U.S. response to a missile strike that Iran launched on American troops in Iraq several hours earlier. Iran had attacked the U.S. troops, wounding dozens, in retaliation for a U.S. airstrike that killed top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad five days previously.

Danilov noted that before and after Iran’s pre-dawn missile strikes on Flight PS752, Iranian authorities had allowed other civilian jets to take off from Tehran airport. “We have the impression that they [the Iranians] had been waiting specifically for our plane. We can assume this,” he said.

Danilov said those who allegedly were waiting to strike the UIA jet were senior Iranian officials. “It must have been an order from senior management. No [air defense] operators can make such a decision on their own.”

The Ukrainian security official’s accusations regarding Iran’s role in the incident were tougher and more detailed than his previous ones.

‘Conscious attack’

In an April 2021 interview with Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper, Danilov said he believed the Iranian downing of Flight PS752 was “intentional” and a “conscious attack.”

Ukrainian news site Ukrinform later quoted Danilov as saying in May 2021 that Kyiv was “more and more inclined” to call the Iranian missile strikes a “terrorist act.” Danilov was responding to a Canadian judge’s ruling that month that the “missile attacks were intentional” and “the shooting down of the civilian aircraft constituted terrorist activity under applicable federal law.”

The Ontario court’s ruling came as part of a civil lawsuit brought by relatives of six Flight PS752 victims against Iranian officials, whom they blamed for the tragedy. In a further decision announced Monday, the court awarded the plaintiffs $84 million in damages “for loss of life caused by terrorism.”

Iran’s U.N. mission in New York did not respond to a VOA request for comment on Danilov’s latest statements that the downing of Flight PS752 was a premeditated, terrorist act. VOA made the request in a voicemail on the Iranian U.N. mission’s phone line and in messages sent to the mission by email and on Twitter.

In a separate email exchange with VOA on Friday, Ukraine’s former deputy prosecutor general, Gyunduz Mamedov, used even sharper language to describe Iran’s role in the shootdown.

Mamedov, who was involved in Ukraine’s ongoing criminal investigation of the incident while serving as deputy prosecutor general from 2019 to 2021, said the investigation remains in a pretrial stage in which the classification of the alleged crime is being determined.

“The pre-trial investigation is considering various categories of crime, including an act of terrorism,” Mamedov wrote. “It also is likely that the downing of an aircraft will be classified as a war crime.”

Ukraine has not disclosed evidence that Iran’s shooting down of Flight PS752 was part of a premeditated, intentional act.

‘Full reparations’

Canada, which lost 55 citizens and 30 permanent residents in the shootdown, has not publicly shared Ukraine’s assessments of a sinister Iranian role in the incident.

But Canada joined Ukraine and two other nations whose citizens were among the victims, Britain and Sweden, in issuing a statement Thursday vowing to “hold Iran accountable for the actions and omissions of its civil and military officials that led to the illegal downing of Flight PS752 by ensuring that Iran makes full reparations for its breaches of international law.”

The four nations, which joined together as an International Coordination and Response Group for the victims of Flight PS752, also said that after a first round of talks in July 2020, Iran rejected their January 5 deadline to resume negotiations on their collective demand for reparations. They said they would “now focus on subsequent actions … to resolve this matter in accordance with international law.”

Danilov told VOA that not only has Iran paid no compensation to the Ukrainian victims’ families, but its cooperation with Ukraine’s criminal investigation was nonexistent.

In a statement issued Friday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Tehran has sent letters to embassies of relevant governments declaring a readiness to pay the families of 30 foreign victims.

The Iranian statement said Tehran was ready for “bilateral” talks with the countries whose citizens were killed in the shootdown. But it accused some of those nations, without naming them, of committing “illegal actions” and “trying to exploit this painful incident and the plight of the survivors for their own political purposes.”

Britain, Canada, Sweden and Ukraine have insisted on multilateral negotiations.

Trial questioned

Iran’s Foreign Ministry also noted that the Iranian judiciary has held several court sessions since opening a trial in November of 10 military personnel charged in connection with the shootdown.

In his VOA interview, Danilov questioned the credibility of that trial. “We don’t know whether these people are really responsible, because the processes that took place in Iran were held behind closed doors and foreign representatives were not allowed inside to confirm that this was a transparent, democratic procedure,” he said.

In explaining his belief that the downing of the Ukrainian plane was intentional, Danilov told the Globe and Mail in his April 2021 interview that Iran might have used it as a pre-dawn distraction to calm an escalating confrontation with the more powerful U.S. military.

He also cited Iran’s use of a Russian-made missile system to strike the jetliner. Ukrainian military experts have said such a system is unlikely to mistakenly shoot down a passenger plane.

This story was a collaboration between VOA’s Persian and Ukrainian services and English News Center. Kateryna Lisunova of VOA Ukrainian and Arash Sigarchi of VOA Persian contributed.
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The top men’s tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, spent Orthodox Christmas in an immigration detention hotel in Australia on Friday as he sought to fend off deportation over the country’s COVID-19 rules and compete in the Australian Open.

Djokovic received calls from his native Serbia, including from his parents and the president, who hoped to boost his spirits on the holiday.

On Instagram, he posted: “Thank you to the people around the world for your continuous support. I can feel it and it is greatly appreciated.”

The 34-year-old athlete and vaccine skeptic was barred from entering the country late Wednesday when federal border authorities at the Melbourne airport rejected his medical exemption to Australia’s strict COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

He has been confined to the detention hotel in Melbourne pending a court hearing on Monday, a week before the start of the tournament, where he is seeking to win his record-breaking 21st Grand Slam singles title.

During the day, Djokovic’s supporters, waving banners, gathered outside the Park Hotel, used to house refugees and asylum-seekers.

A priest from the Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church in Melbourne asked to visit the nine-time Australian Open champion to celebrate Orthodox Christmas but was turned down by immigration officials because the hotel is under lockdown.

“Our Christmas is rich in many customs, and it is so important that a priest visits him,” the church’s dean, Milorad Locard, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “The whole thing around this event is appalling. That he has to spend Christmas in detention … it is unthinkable.”

The Australian Border Force said Friday that after further investigations into two other people connected to the Australian Open, one voluntarily left the country, and another was taken into detention pending deportation.

The Czech Embassy identified one of them as 38-year-old doubles player Renata Voráčová and said she won’t play in the tournament.

Australia’s COVID-19 rules say incoming travelers must have had two shots of an approved vaccine or must have an exemption with a genuine medical reason, such as an acute condition, to avoid quarantine. All players, staff, officials and fans need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter the tournament venue.

Djokovic flew to Australia after obtaining a medical exemption backed by the country’s tennis federation and approved by the Victoria state government. The grounds for the exemption have not been disclosed. But the Australian government pronounced it invalid when he arrived.

The dispute has become a touchy topic in a city where residents spent 256 days in 2020-21 under severe restrictions on their movement. Djokovic’s exemption stirred allegations that the star athlete got special treatment.

While some players have sympathized with his situation, others have said getting vaccinated would have prevented any drama.

But amid the latest turn in the dispute, even some who have been critical of Djokovic in the past are now seemingly in his corner.

“Look, I definitely believe in taking action, I got vaccinated because of others and for my mum’s health, but how we are handling Novak’s situation is bad, really bad,” Nick Kyrgios, an Australian player and outspoken critic of some of Djokovic’s opinions on vaccinations, posted on Twitter. “This is one of our great champions but at the end of the day, he is human. Do better.”

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said earlier this week that 26 people connected with the tournament applied for medical exemptions and only a “handful” were granted. Three of those have since been challenged. 
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The United States is accusing Russia of trying to “gaslight” the world regarding tensions with Ukraine, continually seeking to portray Kyiv as the aggressor even as Moscow plans to mobilize as many as 300,000 troops for a potential invasion.

The accusation came Friday from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, following a virtual meeting of NATO foreign affairs ministers, and ahead of a series of talks involving the U.S., NATO and Russia set for the coming week. 

“We’ve seen this gaslighting before,” Blinken told reporters, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its illegal seizure of Crimea in 2014. Gaslighting is defined by one online dictionary as causing people to doubt their sanity through psychological manipulation. 

“No one should be surprised if Russia instigates a provocation or incident, then tries to use it to justify military intervention,” the top U.S. diplomat added, warning that Russia’s military buildup involves “nearly 100,000 troops today with plans to mobilize twice that number on very short order.” 

“This is a test for Russia,” Blinken added, cautioning progress can be made only “in the context of de-escalation.” 

“If it is serious about resolving the situation in eastern Ukraine and to resolve it diplomatically and peacefully, the Minsk [Agreement] is the way to do it,” he said, adding that a failure to do so would result in “massive consequences.” 

Speaking separately in Brussels earlier on Friday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Moscow’s willingness to engage in talks this coming week. But he warned that while NATO would listen to Russia’s concerns in “good faith,” the Kremlin must be willing to do likewise on a range of issues, including arms control. 

“For dialogue to be meaningful, it must also address allies’ long-standing concerns about Russia’s actions,” Stoltenberg told reporters. “That has to be reciprocal.” 

Stoltenberg further warned that NATO would not give in to Russian demands. 

“We will not compromise on core principles, including the right for every nation to determine its own path,” he said. “We cannot end up in a situation where we have second class NATO members where NATO as an alliance is not allowed to protect them.” 

Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine of carrying out a military buildup of its own and has demanded that NATO agree to a series of security guarantees, including a rollback of the alliance’s military presence in Eastern Europe and that it put an end to any expansion, including possible membership for countries like Ukraine and Georgia. 

In an interview with Bloomberg News on Wednesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said President Vladimir Putin wanted to see immediate results following the upcoming talks. 

“That’s not a figure of speech,” Ryabkov said, adding that the success or failure of the upcoming talks will depend on “the extent to which our American colleagues are receptive to our demands.” 

On Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke by phone with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu about “risk reduction near Ukraine’s borders.” 

Still, Russia’s tough talk has touched off a flurry of diplomatic activity among Western allies, including calls between NATO officials and the leaders of Finland and Sweden. 

And Blinken spoke by phone Friday with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, reassuring Kyiv of U.S. support. 

However, speaking to reporters, Blinken said, “It will be very difficult to make actual progress if Russia continues to escalate its military buildup and its inflammatory rhetoric.” 

And in Brussels, NATO’s Stoltenberg added that the Western alliance is clear-eyed about the upcoming discussions. 

“We need to be prepared for the talks breaking down and that diplomacy will fail,” he said. “That is exactly why we are sending a very clear message to Russia that if they once again decide to use military force against a neighbor, then there will be severe consequences, a high price to pay — economic sanctions financial sanctions, political sanctions.” 

 
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The speed with which Russia dispatched troops this week to help quell violent demonstrations in neighboring Kazakhstan is testimony to the Kremlin’s recurring fear of “color revolutions,” say Western diplomats and analysts. Moscow must have been horrified by how quickly the protests spread in Kazakhstan, long seen as one of the most stable of the former Soviet countries, they emphasize.  

Sparked by a fuel price hike and cost of living grievances, the protests, which began in the oil-rich western part of the country, rapidly escalated this week into the worst violence the Central Asian nation has seen since turning independent 30 years ago. 

And the grievances over fuel prices voiced initially by the protesters snowballed into a bigger threat against the government after dozens died when Kazakh armed forces opened fire.  

Demonstrators have been demanding regime change and the departure of both Kazakhstan’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and the country’s 81-year-old former leader, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who stepped down three years ago after almost three decades in power but retained the official title of “leader of the nation.”  

He is still believed to rule behind the scenes, and protesters reference him with chants of “Get out, old man.” On Wednesday demonstrators in Taldykorgan, a town in southern Kazakhstan, pulled down his statue from the main square. 

Protesters stormed government buildings Wednesday in Almaty, the country’s largest city, and briefly occupied the airport with reports of “dozens” of protesters being killed in clashes along with at least 12 policemen. Thursday saw videos circulating on social media showing Kazakh military units exchanging gunfire with armed opponents in Almaty. 

Russian officials and pro-Kremlin media have claimed the West is behind the agitation and is trying to foment another color revolution with the goal of disorienting Russia on the eve of major Russia-U.S. security talks next week with the United States and NATO amid fears the Kremlin may be considering invading Ukraine. 

Russia has previously accused Western powers of being behind popular uprisings in the former Soviet states of Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine.  

Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, said unrest was foreign-backed and aimed to “undermine the security and integrity of the state by force, using trained and organized armed formations.” Konstantin Kosachev, a senator who chairs the foreign affairs committee of Russia’s upper house of parliament, said the protesters included Islamic militants who had fought in Afghanistan. 

“It’s a tense moment in the former Soviet Union, with Russian troops and tanks surrounding Ukraine on three sides. The last thing Moscow wants or needs is legitimate protests in a country it considers to be in its sphere of interest,” said Melinda Haring, of the Atlantic Council, a U.S.-based research organization. “Moscow is looking for a hidden hand. The Kremlin doesn’t accept the protests in Kazakhstan as genuine,” she added. 

Kazakhstan is an important regional power with vast energy resources.  

President Tokayev, who has ordered troops to “shoot to kill without warning” and says protesters who fail to surrender will be “destroyed,” also has blamed outsiders for unprecedented agitation. He alleged in a broadcast to the nation Thursday that Almaty had been attacked by “20,000 bandits” who had a “clear plan of attack, coordination of actions and high combat readiness.”  

Tokayev expressed “special thanks” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, for agreeing to his midweek request for assistance “in overcoming this terrorist threat.”  

The request was formally made to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Moscow-led regional security pact comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. Tokayev invoked article 4 of the CSTO pact, which commits members to assist each other to defend against “foreign interference.” It is the first time any CSTO member has cited article 4 of the military alliance, which was formed in 1994.

The Russian defense ministry says about 3,000 paratroopers and other servicemen are being flown to Kazakhstan “around the clock” with up to 75 huge transport planes being used in the emergency airlift. Kazakhstan’s interior ministry said in a statement Friday that 26 protesters had been killed during the unrest, 18 injured and more than 3,000 arrested. It said 700 security personnel had suffered injuries and confirmed 18 had been killed.  

Sporadic gunfire could still be heard Friday in Almaty, despite Tokayev telling Kazakhs that order had largely been restored. “Constitutional order has been mainly restored in all regions,” Tokayev said Friday. “Local authorities are monitoring the situation. But terrorists are still using weapons, causing damage to civilian property. Therefore [a] counterterrorist operation will continue until the total destruction of the militants.” 

Tokayev may have turned to Russia for assistance because he feared not all of his security forces would remain loyal, if the agitation escalated, a British diplomat told VOA. He said in some smaller towns, the police appeared to have sat out the protests and in Aktobe, near the country’s border with Russia, the police are reported to have sided with the protesters. 

Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, currently CSTO chairman, says the forces will be committed “for a limited period, in order to stabilize and normalize the situation.” And Stanislav Zas, secretary-general of the CSTO, said the outside forces would “minimize and localize threats” to Kazakhstan’s territorial integrity. He, too, said the mission would be temporary. 

Some Russian analysts and Kazakhs have warned the Russian deployment risks triggering further trouble. “Whoever took this decision has absolutely no understanding of the Kazakh mentality,” Polat Dzhamalov, a Kazakh living in Moscow, told the independent TV Rain, an internet channel. “Kazakhs have never tolerated occupation.” 

Some Russian analysts also have highlighted the risks of Russian troops maintaining any longer-term presence and of being dragged into the unrest.

“For now, this is less an armed intervention than a police operation,” said Andrei Kortunov, head of the Russian International Affairs Council, a Kremlin-linked policy organization. “But if it drags on, consequences for Russia could mount up,” he told the English-language newspaper the Moscow Times. 

The United States, Britain and other western countries have urged all sides to show restraint.

“We are concerned about the violent clashes and are following developments closely. We are urging against further escalation and want to see a peaceful resolution,” a spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. 

 
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The Turkish lira had a very bad year in 2021 and lost a significant amount of its value against the U.S. dollar. That’s led to a cross-border shopping spree from neighboring Bulgaria. VOA’s Umut Colak filed this report from Edirne, Turkey, narrated by Ezel Sahinkaya.
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A marathon trial of suspects in the November 2015 Paris attack resumed Thursday after a negative COVID-19 test allowed the main suspect to attend. 

Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the 10 assailants, had not appeared in court since November 25 and tested positive at the end of December. 

He is set to take the stand for questioning next Thursday and Friday, an event long awaited by families of the 130 people killed on November 13, 2015. 

In the meantime, there was a tense standoff between the presiding judge and another defendant. 

Osama Krayem, 29, a Swedish national, informed the court through his lawyer that he would remain silent “until the end of proceedings” and refused to even attend the trial, calling it “an illusion.” 

Judge vows force

But when it was Krayem’s turn on Thursday to be questioned about his role in the series of jihadi attacks on bars, restaurants, the Bataclan concert hall and the national stadium, chief judge Jean-Louis Peries said that he would be made to show up. 

“I will have no option but to use force to make him appear on the stand,” he said. 

That turned out to be unnecessary, as Krayem made his way to the bench uncoerced, and sat down next to Abdeslam. 

“It’s good of you to come willingly,” the judge commented. 

Abdeslam, a dual French Moroccan national, was captured in Brussels after discarding his suicide vest and fleeing the French capital in the chaotic aftermath of the bloodshed. 

Bataclan attack

The attack on the Bataclan, where 90 people mostly in their 20s and 30s were massacred as they watched a rock concert, represented the most traumatic of a string of separate attacks claimed by the Islamic State group over several years. 

Abdeslam’s co-defendants are answering charges ranging from providing logistical support to planning the attacks, as well as supplying weapons. 

Krayem, whom Belgian investigators identified as one of the killers of a Jordanian pilot burned alive by IS in early 2015 in Syria, is also under investigation in Sweden for war crimes. 

After four months of proceedings, the trial has now entered a new phase in which the 14 suspects present are to be questioned. Six others are being tried in absentia, although five of them are believed to be dead, mostly in airstrikes in Syria. 

The 2015 attacks began when the first attackers detonated suicide belts outside the national stadium where France was playing a football match against Germany.

A group of gunmen later opened fire from a car on half a dozen restaurants, and Abdeslam’s brother Brahim blew himself up in a bar. 

The trial, the biggest in modern French history, is to last until May. 
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Russian soldiers have deployed to Timbuktu in northern Mali to train Malian forces at a base vacated by French troops last month, Mali’s army spokesperson said Thursday. 

Mali’s government said last month that “Russian trainers” had arrived in the country, but Bamako and Moscow have so far provided few details on the deployment, including how many soldiers are involved or the Russian troops’ precise mission. 

The Russians’ arrival has generated sharp criticism from Western countries, led by former colonial power France. They say the forces include contractors from the mercenary Wagner Group, which they accuse of human rights abuses in other countries. 

Mali’s government has denied this, saying the Russian troops are in the country as part of a bilateral agreement. 

“We had new acquisitions of planes and equipment from them [the Russians],” the Mali army spokesperson told Reuters. “It costs a lot less to train us on site than for us to go over there. … What is the harm?” 

He did not say how many Russians had been sent to Timbuktu. 

Local residents told Reuters that uniformed Russian men were seen driving around town but could not say how many there were. 

Russia’s defense ministry was not immediately available for comment. 

The Russian forces’ arrival in Mali follows deployments to several other African hot spots, part of what analysts say is an attempt by Moscow to recover influence on the continent after a long absence following the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991. 

France helped to recapture Timbuktu from al-Qaida-linked militants in 2013. France’s withdrawal from the city is part of a significant drawdown of a previously 5,000-strong task force in West Africa’s Sahel region sent to battle jihadist groups.
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Pope Francis Thursday marked the Catholic feast day of Epiphany, the day traditionally observed to commemorate the three wise men — or Magi — visiting the baby Jesus, by urging people to “follow their dreams.”

During a Mass celebrated at the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope recalled the journey of the Magi, who, according to Scripture, followed a star to Bethlehem where the baby Jesus was born in a manger. He said the three had a sort of “healthy restlessness” driven by a desire to see the Christ child.

Francis said, “They were not content to plod through life, but yearned for new and greater horizons.” He urged people to follow the example of the wise men, and lead their lives “brimming with desire, directed, like the Magi, towards the stars.”

He urged people to move past the “barriers of habit, beyond banal consumerism, beyond a drab and dreary faith, beyond the fear of becoming involved and serving others and the common good.”

Pope Francis said the Catholic Church could learn something from the Magi as well, saying it needs “this deep desire and zeal that should animate our journey of life and faith.”  

The pope appeared to direct his comments specifically at the more conservative members of the Church who balked at his decision to restrict the traditionalist Latin Mass, saying the liturgy could not be trapped in a “dead language.”

The Pope concluded his message by noting the Magi’s return home “by another way,” saying they challenge all of us, as well, to take new paths, to be open to the “creativity of the Spirit.”

The Epiphany is observed in predominantly Catholic nations around the world. Falling 12 days after Christmas, in many places, it is traditionally the last day of the holiday season.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.
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The World Health Organization says a new coronavirus variant recently detected in France is nothing to be concerned about right now.

Scientists at the IHU Mediterranee Infection Foundation in the city of Marseille say they discovered the new B.1.640.2 variant in December in 12 patients living near Marseille, with the first patient testing positive after traveling to the central African nation of Cameroon.

The researchers said they have identified 46 mutations in the new variant, which they labeled “IHU” after the institute, that could make it more resistant to vaccines and more infectious than the original coronavirus.  The French team revealed the findings of a study in the online health sciences outlet medRxiv, which publishes studies that have not been peer-reviewed or published in an academic journal.

Abdi Mahmud, a COVID-19 incident manager with the World Health Organization, told reporters in Geneva earlier this week that, while the IHU variant is “on our radar,” it remains confined in Marseille and has not been labeled a “variant of concern” by the U.N. health agency.

Meanwhile, an international team of health care advocates and experts is calling for 22 billion doses of mRNA vaccine to be administered around the world this year to stop the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant.  The team is urging the production of an additional 15 billion doses of mRNA vaccine, more than double the projected 7 billion doses.

The report says mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna have demonstrated the best protection against several variants by providing cross-immunity through so-called T-cells, an arm of the human immune system that kills virus-infected cells and keeps them from replicating and spreading.

The report was a collaboration among scientists at Harvard Medical School, Columbia University, New York University and the University of Saskatchewan and the advocacy groups PrEP4All and Partners in Health.
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Pope Francis has called on childless couples to adopt children and is urging institutions to make the process easier. He also condemned the practice of adopting pets instead of children, calling it a “form of selfishness.”

In his first general audience of the New Year, Pope Francis stressed the importance of parenthood, especially when so many children have been orphaned in the world.

He said every time a person takes on the responsibility of someone else’s life, the person is exercising a form of parenthood. The pope called on people not to fear choosing the path of adoption, saying it is among the highest forms of love and parenthood.

How many children in the world, Pope Francis said, are waiting for someone to look after them and how many couples would like to become parents but are unable for biological reasons. Adoption, he said, is a beautiful and generous act.

The pope said having a child is always a risk, whether that child is biologically one’s own or adopted. Rejecting parenthood, he said, is an even greater risk.

He said the problem is not only the number of orphans, but the fact many people do not want to have children, a situation he described as a “demographic winter.”

The pope said many couples have no children because they do not want them or they choose to have only one but then have two dogs, two cats. Yes, the pope said, dogs and cats take the place of children. This may make people laugh, he said, but it is the reality.

Pope Francis said people who choose to have pets instead of children are manifesting a form of selfishness.

In a statement, Massimo Comparotto, the president of Italy’s International Organization for the Protection of Animals, OIPA, was critical of the pope’s comments. He said, “It is evident that for Francis, animal life is less important than human life. But those who feel that life is sacred love life beyond species.”

The pope urged institutions to make it simpler for couples to adopt children and provide more assistance to families that do so.
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Taiwan said on Wednesday it would create a $200 million fund to invest in Lithuanian industries and boost bilateral trade as it tries to fend off diplomatic pressure on the Baltic state from China.

The Lithuanian government, meanwhile, ordered the state-owned railway company not to sign a contract with a China-owned Spanish bridge builder, citing “national security interests,” the prime minister’s spokesperson told the Baltic News Service.

Lithuania is under pressure from China, which claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, to reverse a decision last year to allow the island to open a de facto embassy in Vilnius under its own name.

Taiwanese representations in other countries, except the unrecognized Somaliland, are named after Taiwan’s capital, Taipei.

China has recalled its ambassador to Lithuania and downgraded diplomatic ties and is pressuring companies like German car parts giant Continental to stop using Lithuanian-made components. It has also blocked Lithuanian cargos from entering China.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken referred to China’s pressure on Vilnius in a joint news conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock after a meeting in Washington and vowed to work with Berlin and others against such “intimidation.”

Blinken said Germany and the United States agree on the importance of trans-Atlantic coordination on China “because it poses a significant challenge to our shared values, to the laws, rules and agreements that foster stability, prosperity and freedom worldwide.”

“We have immediate concern about the government of China’s attempts to bully Lithuania … China is pushing European and American companies to stop building products with components made in Lithuania, or risk losing access to the Chinese market, all because Lithuania chose to expand their cooperation with Taiwan.”

Lithuania’s export-based economy is home to hundreds of companies that make products such as furniture, lasers, food and clothing for multinationals that sell to China.

The head of Taiwan’s representative office in Lithuania, Eric Huang, said the strategic investment fund would be funded by Taiwan’s national development fund and backed by its central bank.

“We will establish the fund as soon as possible and we hope this year we will have some tangible results … I can imagine the first top priorities will be semiconductor, laser (and) biotechnology,” he told a news conference.

Taiwan has redirected 120 shipping containers from Lithuania blocked by China into its market and will take “as much as possible” more, Huang said.

Taiwan will also accelerate its approval process for Lithuanian dairy and grain exports into Taiwan and seek to link Lithuanian businesses into Taiwanese supply chains, he said.

Integrating Lithuania’s laser industry into manufacturing semiconductors in Taiwan was another possibility, Huang said.

Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Tseng Hou-jen called the Chinese pressure on Lithuania “disproportionate.”

“The U.S. and EU refer to Taiwan as Taiwan in their official documents, and China keeps quiet,” he said. “China’s action seems to have targeted what it perceives as vulnerable country, for its political gains. But giving in is not the best way in dealing with bullies.” 
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The United States on Wednesday announced sanctions on Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and current and former officials, adding pressure against their secessionist efforts threatening Bosnia-Herzegovina’s fragile union.

In its statement, the U.S. Treasury Department accused Dodik of corruption and threatening Bosnia-Herzegovina’s stability and territorial integrity.

“Milorad Dodik’s destabilizing corrupt activities and attempts to dismantle the Dayton Peace Accords, motivated by his own self-interest, threaten the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entire region,” said Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, who was quoted in the statement.

The department also imposed sanctions on Banja Luka-based media outlet Alternativna Television (ATV), which it accused Dodik of acquiring to push his political agenda.

According to Reuters, ATV criticized the sanctions as an attack on media freedom and democracy itself. Its management also denied allegations it was connected to Dodik.

“We are surprised with such a decision and regard as extremely trivial that a great state should take individual insinuations about ties between our media house and politicians as credible sources,” ATV said in a statement to Reuters.

Following the sanctions, Dodik’s and ATV’s U.S. assets were frozen, and Americans are barred from dealing with them.

Two leaders barred

In addition to these sanctions, the U.S. State Department also banned two Bosnia-Herzegovina leaders from entering the U.S.: Milan Tegeltija, a former president of the high judicial council, and Mirsad Kukic, a lawmaker and president of the Movement for Democratic Action.

On Twitter, Tegeltija called the sanctions a “result of the politics which contains a brutal political pressure.” Because the sanctions are not the result of court proceedings, he does not need to defend himself, he said.

Dodik, who serves as the Serb member of Bosnia’s tripartite interethnic presidency, is a known secessionist and has become increasingly outspoken and active concerning his political goals.

He wants to reverse postwar reforms and return to the 1995 constitution.

Dodik has also increasingly followed through on succession threats of the Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serb entity created under the U.S.-brokered Dayton Accords that ended the former Yugoslav republic’s bloody war.

Referring to united Bosnia as a failure, Dodik acted to withdraw Bosnian Serb institutions, including the army, judiciary and tax system, from central authority last month.

Dodik has made it clear the U.S. sanctions will not stop him, telling a local media outlet that “if they think that they will discipline me like this, they are grossly mistaken.”

No stranger to sanctions, such as those imposed in the final days of former President Barack Obama’s presidency blocking his American holdings, Dodik has ignored U.S. pressure. After announcing his secessionist measures last month, he said he was not afraid of the sanctions that might result from his actions.

‘Nothing serious’

Following a September 30 telephone call with U.S. envoy Gabriel Escobar, Dodik said, “It is absolutely inappropriate to threaten me with sanctions from his country. I’m already under sanctions and nothing serious has happened to me.”

The sanctions reflected the United States’ increased worry about the future of Bosnia’s peace accords, especially after Dodik’s recent attempts to unravel them. In addition to his secessionist measures, Dodik met last month with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who reportedly appeared to support his actions.

Christian Schmidt, the U.N. high representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina, said these sanctions were reasonable considering Dodik’s actions. Schmidt called them “a logical consequence of the destructive and dangerous attitude in reference to his failure to meet the basic requirements of responsible leadership.”

The Dayton Accords ended a brutal war in which 100,000 people died and 2 million were driven from their homes. In the war’s aftermath, Bosnian Serb forces were accused of genocide.

The peace accords divided the country into two halves: one for the Bosnian Serbs and one for a Muslim federation.

Presently, Bosnia has experienced its most serious political turmoil since the war’s end, reigniting fears that it could again split.

Following the announcement of the U.S. sanctions, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that further action was not out of the question, saying in a separate statement that “other leaders and entities linked to corrupt or destabilizing actors may also be subject to future actions by the U.S. government.”

Some information for this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
…

Novak Djokovic was denied entry into Australia and his visa was canceled after he arrived in Melbourne late Wednesday to defend his title at the season-opening tennis major.  

The Australian Border Force issued a statement early Thursday local time saying Djokovic failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet entry requirements and “has visa has been subsequently canceled.”

The top-ranked Djokovic flew in after receiving a medical exemption from the strict coronavirus vaccination requirements in place for the Australian Open, where he is a nine-time winner.  

Australian media reported that Djokovic’s team had applied for the wrong type of visa for a person with a medical exemption.  

Djokovic’s lawyers are expected to appeal the decision, which came after the 20-time major winner had to spend more than eight hours at the Melbourne Tullamarine Airport waiting to find out if he would be allowed into the country.  

Djokovic’s father, Srdjan Djokovic, told the B92 internet portal that his son was held “in a room which no one can enter” at the airport, guarded by two policemen.  

Djokovic’s participation in the Australian Open has become a hot political topic, with many Australians furious that he was granted an exemption to enter the country.  

Meanwhile, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Instagram that spoke to Djokovic while he was being held at the airport and added that Serbian authorities were taking measures “so the harassment of the best tennis player in the world be stopped in the shortest possible time.”

Speculation of a possible issue with the visa emerged while Djokovic was in transit and escalated with mixed messages from federal and state lawmakers.

Djokovic’s revelation on social media that he was heading to Australia seeking a record 21st major title sparked some debate and plenty of headlines on Wednesday, with critics questioning what grounds he could have for the exemption and backers arguing he has a right to privacy and freedom of choice.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley defended the “completely legitimate application and process” and insisted there was no special treatment for Djokovic.

The Victoria state government mandated that only fully vaccinated players, staff, fans and officials could enter Melbourne Park when the tournament starts on Jan. 17.

Only 26 people connected with the tournament applied for a medical exemption and, Tiley said, only a “handful” were granted.

Among the reasons allowed for those applying for a vaccination exemption can include acute major medical conditions, serious adverse reaction to a previous dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, or evidence of a COVID-19 infection within the previous six months.

Djokovic tested positive for the coronavirus in June 2020 after he played in a series of exhibition matches that he organized in Serbia and Croatia without social distancing amid the pandemic.
…

French President Emmanuel Macron burst into the presidential race with an explosive remark about the country’s minority of unvaccinated people — in an apparent effort to win support from mainstream voters but at the risk of widening divisions over the issue. 

Macron used a vulgarity to describe his strategy for pressuring vaccine refusers to get coronavirus jabs. In an interview published by Le Parisien newspaper late Tuesday, he used a word meaning to rile or to bug. His salty language dominated news broadcasts on Wednesday. 

“The unvaccinated, I really want to bug them. And so we will continue doing so, to the end. That’s the strategy,” he said in the interview at the presidential Elysee Palace with a panel of its readers. 

The 44-year-old outspoken, centrist president also expressed his desire to run for reelection in April’s presidential vote. Yet he said he is still waiting to formally declare his candidacy because he wants to focus on the pandemic first. 

Macron’s comments come as lawmakers are heatedly debating new measures that would allow only the vaccinated to enjoy leisure activities such as eating out. More than 91% of adults in France are fully vaccinated. 

Macron’s goal is “to draw all the attention” and “make his contenders disappear, on the Trump model,” political communications expert Philippe Moreau Chevrolet tweeted. 

It is also a way to point the finger at people who haven’t been vaccinated as being responsible for the situation, instead of being himself held accountable for the record numbers of infections, Moreau Chevrolet said. 

Journalist Frédéric Says, a close observer of French politics, said on France Culture radio that it seems likely that Macron wants to capitalize on the exasperation expressed by many French voters. Macron was answering the question of a woman expressing indignation at planned surgeries of vaccinated people being canceled while unvaccinated patients are occupying most of the beds in intensive care units. 

Commentators noted the remark appears to be even more surprising only three weeks after Macron expressed regrets about having hurt people’s feelings with some comments. 

“There are words that can hurt, and I think that’s never right. … Respect is part of political life,” he said on national television. 

During his term, Macron upset many people when he told a jobless man that he just had to “cross the street” to find work. Or when he told retirees with small pensions to stop complaining. And when he suggested some French workers are lazy. 

In recent months, France has seen weekly street protests against virus-related restrictions and vaccine requirements. 

Macron’s supporters suggested the president simply expressed out loud what some vaccinated people think about the unvaccinated, in a country with bitter divisions over the issue. 

“Let’s talk frankly. Who bugs the life of who today? Who ruins the life of our health workers who have been mobilized for two years … in our ICUs to save patients who today are mainly not vaccinated? It is those who are opposed to the vaccine,” government spokesman Gabriel Attal said. 

“To say things clearly … the words of the president of the republic seem to me well below the anger of a very large majority of French people” against unvaccinated people, he said. 

Lawmakers in parliament are debating this week the government’s planned new vaccine pass. 

The measure will exclude unvaccinated individuals from places such as restaurants, cinemas, theaters, museums and sports arenas. The pass will also be required on inter-regional trains and buses, and on domestic flights. 

Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, who opposed the vaccine pass proposal, said the president wants “to wage war against a portion of the French.” 

Another far-right candidate, Eric Zemmour, accused Macron of cruelty. On the far left, presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon asked: “Is the president in control of what he says?” 

France reported a record-smashing 271,686 daily virus cases Tuesday as omicron infections race across the country, burdening hospital staff and threatening to disrupt transportation, schools and other services.

Macron’s government is straining to avoid a new economically damaging lockdown that could hurt his reelection prospects. Ministers are instead trying to rush the vaccine pass bill through parliament in hopes that it will be enough to keep hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. 

More than 20,000 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in France, a number that has been rising steadily for weeks but not as sharply as the country’s infection rates. 

COVID-19 patients fill more than 72% of France’s ICU beds, and its once-renowned health care system is again showing signs of strain.
…

China has pulled off a rapid economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the star performer of major economies in 2021 was India, which grew its economy faster. Analysts are predicting India will be the world’s fastest-growing major economy this year, too, the start of a long-term trend, they say.

The investment bank Nomura forecasts that China will grow by 4.3% in 2022 compared to India’s 8.5%. Britain and other European governments are taking note and redoubling lobbying efforts to penetrate the Indian economy and reach trade deals with New Delhi, which is protectionist and operates some of the highest trade tariffs on imports in the world.

India’s GDP is around $2.8 trillion, and forecasts suggest it could be the world’s third largest economy within 25 years.

In a bid to conclude a free trade deal with India, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is ready to relax immigration rules to ease the path for thousands of Indians to live and work in Britain. Later this month, Britain’s international trade secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, will lead a mission to New Delhi and raise the prospect of relaxing immigration rules for Indian citizens as well as reducing the fees for work and student visas, both longstanding demands from the Indian government.

Previous British efforts to secure an ambitious trade deal with India have foundered, stretching back a decade. In 2011, then-Prime Minister David Cameron and six of his Cabinet ministers went on what Downing Street described as the “biggest trade mission in history” to India, the world’s second-most populous nation, to pitch for business.

During the trip, Cameron said he wanted to take the relationship between his country and India to the “next level” and that the “possibility is there for dramatic expansion and I believe we should seize it.” But he came back largely empty-handed, and the following year Britain slipped from 13th to 16th in a league table of the emerging economic superpower’s trade partners.

More than a year later, there had been no return visit to London from any senior member of the Indian government. The leaders of the Belgium, France, Germany and the United States have all been on visits to New Delhi since then in a lengthening line of suitors all eager for trade deals and to drum up new business.

China

With India’s current fast economic growth, despite being hit hard by the pandemic, the suitors are knocking on the door again. For Western leaders, the drive to secure closer ties with India is also being driven by a determination to use India to counter the influence of China.

One option British ministers are looking into is a scheme similar to a deal Britain has with Australia, which would give young Indians the opportunity to work in Britain for up to three years. Another option would allow Indians who graduate from British universities to remain and work after they have concluded their studies.

One government official told The Times newspaper: “The tech and digital space in India is still hugely protectionist and if we could open up even a slither of access, it would put us ahead of the game.”

Last year, Britain and India agreed to deepen cooperation and signed an Enhanced Trade Partnership, which according to British officials will generate $1.4 billion of new trade between the two nations. Britain, however, is looking for a much bigger prize, to help compensate the country for its reduced commerce with the European Union since its exit from the bloc.

Neither the U.S. nor the European Union has secured a bilateral trade deal with India, but they, too, are looking to expand trade with the emerging economic titan. The EU is India’s third-largest trading partner, accounting for $72 billion worth of trade in goods in 2020 or 11.1 percent of total Indian trade. The EU is the second-largest destination for Indian exports — 14% of the total — after the U.S., according to the European Commission.

Last May, the EU showed renewed interest in negotiating a free trade deal with India after years of off-and-on negotiations and the leaders of the bloc’s 27 nations held a virtual summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. EU officials said concerns about China are bringing Brussels and New Delhi closer. India is also alarmed at China’s expansionist ambitions, according to Cleo Paskal, an associate fellow at Britain’s Chatham House, a research group.

In a recent paper she said, “While the Himalayas have recently become increasingly strategically active, a secure Indian Ocean is also critical for India. Approximately 90% of both Indian trade by volume and India’s oil imports pass through the area.” 

She added, “India’s strategic community has been disconcerted by increased Chinese maritime activity in the region.”
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Polish President Andrzej Duda has tested positive for coronavirus, a top aide tweeted on Wednesday, after several people around him were infected.   

“The President feels good, is not seriously ill and is under constant medical supervision,” top aide Pawel Szrot said in a tweet. He said the president was in isolation.   

Duda also caught coronavirus in October 2020.   

Poland has reported a lower number of new COVID-19 infections in recent days, but reporting is likely to have been influenced by a reduction in testing over the holidays.   

The Omicron variant has yet to gain a foothold in Poland. The Ministry of Health said on Tuesday it was responsible for around 2.5% of infections, but it was expected to become dominant by the end of the month. 
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Britain’s justice secretary said Wednesday he wanted to put the “fear of God” into those who threaten women and that restoring women’s faith in the legal system was his “top priority” following a string of high-profile murders in London.

Dominic Raab said he was “shocked and horrified” by the recent killings of several women, including one who was murdered by a serving police officer, calling the scale of violence “sickening”.

“For many, the fear of being out alone after dark, or that they may be beaten in their own home, is a grim everyday reality,” he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

“We must turn that situation around. I want us to give those women back the confidence to live life without having to look anxiously over their shoulder, and instil the fear of God into the minds of anyone who would contemplate threatening a woman or girl.”

According to official figures in England and Wales, in the year to March 2020 around 1.6 million women experienced domestic abuse, more than 600,000 were sexually assaulted and almost 900,000 were stalked.

The government is scrapping the automatic halfway release for serious sexual offenses and introducing closer monitoring of how well the police and prosecutors are tackling rape and sexual violence.

Victims of common assault involving domestic abuse will get two years to report the crime — up from a current six-month time limit.

Raab, who is also Britain’s deputy prime minister, warned there was “no single silver bullet” to solve the problem and it needed to be tackled “at every level” of society.

Park killings

Police and prosecutors are working together to prevent the scrutiny of those reporting rape “eclipsing the proper focus on investigating the suspect”, he added.

Victims are also being given the option of pre-recording their evidence when their case goes to trial.

The disappearance of Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, as she walked home in south London in March 2021 sparked renewed anger and concern about women’s safety.

A serving Metropolitan Police officer was sentenced to life imprisonment for her kidnap, rape and murder.

Everard’s murder came nearly a year after two sisters, Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, were stabbed to death by a man in a Satanic-inspired attack in a northwest London park.

Police were criticized for not initially taking the case seriously and two officers were jailed for taking unauthorized photographs at the crime scene and sharing them with colleagues on WhatsApp.

In September 2021, teacher Sabina Nessa was found dead in another park, in the southwest of the British capital. A man has since been charged with her murder.
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For the next six months, France will be running the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, giving President Emmanuel Macron a key role in shaping the future of the bloc in a year that looks set to be yet another highly turbulent and fractious one for the EU.

Macron takes the helm of the EU as French presidential elections loom, and some critics are already accusing him of weaponizing France’s six-month stint presiding over the council to try to boost his reelection hopes.  

Other European leaders are bracing themselves for Macron to be hyperactive as he presides over the council, which brings together the heads of state and government of the member states and their ministers, and arguably is the most powerful of the bloc’s institutions and are worried

Macron’s French electoral opponents have denounced him for using the upcoming council role for unfair electioneering, pointing to a recent tour of EU member states during which he pushed not only his plans to reset the course of the whole European bloc but also to burnish his self-appointed role as the champion of democracy against populism, French or otherwise.

French domestic politics was never far from Macron’s mood during his tour, which concluded last month. 

While calling on the EU’s 27 member states to aim for “strategic sovereignty” and defense autonomy, critics say he has been advertising his ambitions for the bloc to project himself as a statesman, one who is putting France front and center of the European continent.

Macron declared “the year 2022 must be a turning point for Europe” in his New Year’s Eve address to the French nation, praised the EU’s role during the pandemic and outlined a highly ambitious reform agenda for the bloc. And he vowed that he would use the council’s presidency for the benefit of France. “You can count on my complete commitment to ensure that this period, which comes around every 13 years [for France], is a time of progress for you,” he said.

Unease in Brussels 

His unabashed mixing of French electoral politics with his role as the EU Council president is prompting some unease in Brussels and among some the bloc’s national leaders, who worry his campaigning for reelection as French president, and the counter-campaigning by his electoral rivals, could spill over and end up impacting wider EU issues.

“It risks getting very messy and triggering some unintended consequences,” a senior EU official told VOA. “There’s a danger his domestic campaign needs will shape how he behaves as Council president and the EU could suffer collateral damage.” he added.

The EU has a full agenda ahead. Divisive talks over Europe’s debt rules, which limit the public spending of member states, are already underway and are proving explosive with southern members like Italy and Greece wanting the rules to be less restrictive and several frugal northern national governments fiercely opposed.

Arguments over the rule of law already have Brussels and the former communist states of Central Europe at each other’s throats.

And there is a continuing rift over how far the bloc should go toward political integration with Macron championing turning the EU into a United States of Europe and already clearly eager to use the council’s presidency to push hard for much greater integration of the EU, from economic policies to defense arrangements. 

Macron and his electoral opponents are already skirmishing over the issue of Europe and French identity.

His opponents say he should have delayed France taking on the Council’s presidency until after the elections. “It’s a mistake. He’s doing it for his own interests, not those of France,” his Conservative rival Valérie Pécresse from Les Républicains party said recently. 

Last week, there was a foretaste of how the EU risks being dragged into the French electoral battle with both Macron and far-right presidential candidates Marine Le Pen and Éric Zemmour battling over the hoisting of the EU flag under the Arc de Triomphe, a monument that honors those who fought and died for France during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.

The hanging of the EU flag, instead of the French tricolor, was meant to mark the start of the French presidency of the Council of the EU but it triggered a domestic political fight. Le Pen denounced Macron for what she said was a “provocation that offends those who fought for France.” Zemmour dubbed it an “outrage.”

Conservative presidential candidate Valerie Pécresse questioned why Macron did not choose to fly France’s national flag next to the EU’s as happened the last time France held the EU presidency in 2008, when Nicolas Sarkozy was French president. Others noted the hoisting of the flag broke a French law stipulating “flying the colors of Europe on monuments is possible as long as it is done alongside French colors.” 
…

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to create what he described as “a pious generation” of young Turkish nationalists that would be loyal to traditional Islamic values. But political analysts say winning the votes of young people could be his biggest challenge ahead of elections in 2023. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
…

As the world continues to struggle with the rapid spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus and the still-lingering delta variant, scientists in France said they have discovered a new variant that contains multiple mutations.

Experts at the IHU Mediterranee Infection in Marseille say they discovered the new variant back in December in 12 patients living near Marseille, with the first patient testing positive after traveling to the central African nation of Cameroon. 

The French scientists said they have identified 46 mutations in the new variant, dubbed B.1.640.2, that could make it more resistant to vaccines and more infectious than the original virus.  

The results were posted on the online health sciences outlet medRxiv, which publishes studies that have not been peer-reviewed or published in an academic journal. B.1.640.2 has not been detected in other countries or been labeled a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization.

Meanwhile, a new study out of Denmark reveals omicron is better at avoiding a person’s immunity even if they are vaccinated against COVID-19. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen studied 12,000 households and discovered that omicron was between 2.7 to 3.7 times more infectious than delta among vaccinated Danes.  

The study, which has not been peer-reviewed, also found that unvaccinated individuals are more likely to transmit the coronavirus than those who had been fully vaccinated and received a booster shot. Vaccine effectiveness against symptoms was reduced to around 40% against symptoms and to 80% against severe disease when dealing with omicron, while booster shots improved those numbers to 86% against symptoms and 98% against severe disease.

“Our findings confirm that the rapid spread of the Omicron variant primarily can be ascribed to the immune evasiveness rather than an inherent increase in the basic transmissibility,” the researchers wrote.  

The omicron outbreak continues to wreak havoc on cities and countries around the world, pushing enormous strains on health care systems.

Authorities in Australia’s most populous state of New South Wales reported more than 23,000 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, breaking the previous record of 22,577 new cases set just on New Year’s Day, with 1,344 hospitalizations, breaking the record of 1,268 hospitalizations seen back in September at the height of the delta outbreak.  Neighboring Victoria state posted 14,020 new cases Tuesday, breaking Monday’s record of 8,577 new cases.

The states of Queensland, South Australia and the island of Tasmania also reported record numbers of new infections Tuesday, pushing Australia’s total number of COVID-19 infections past the milestone 500,000 mark.

The surge has led to a critical shortage of staffers at hospitals across Australia, with healthcare workers furloughed after contracting the virus. Testing centers have also been forced to shut down either because of staffing shortages or a backlog of tests. But Prime Minister Scott Morrison has rejected calls for the federal government in Canberra to provide free rapid antigen tests to all Australians.

Another Chinese city has entered into a full lockdown after three people tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days. Authorities have ordered all 1.2 million residents of the central city of Yuzhou to remain in their homes, and have closed nearly all public facilities including schools, transportation and shopping malls.  

The strict lockdown measures in Yuzhou are similar to those imposed in the northwestern city of Xi’an, where 13 million residents have been confined to their homes since December 23 due to an outbreak of the delta variant that has now sickened more than 1,600 residents. The lockdowns are part of Beijing’s “zero-COVID” strategy that includes mass testing, lengthy quarantine periods and snap lockdowns.

In Hong Kong, chief executive Carrie Lam announced Tuesday that the semi-autonomous city is extending its vaccine requirements for public venues. Lam said that all Hong Kongers will have to show proof of vaccination to enter museums, public libraries and schools effective February 24. The expanded vaccination mandate, which already covers entertainment venues, was imposed in the wake of Hong Kong confirming its first omicron infection cluster.

And the United States posted 1,082,549 new COVID-19 infections Monday, setting a new global one-day record, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.  The numbers are nearly double that of the previous record of about 590,000 set just last week, driven mostly by the omicron variant.  

Some information for this report came from the Associated Press, Reuters and  Agence France-Presse. 
…

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has scheduled a special meeting of allied ambassadors and top Russian officials for next week as both sides seek dialog to prevent open conflict over Ukraine, a NATO official said on Tuesday. 

Worried about Russia’s military build-up along Ukraine’s border, the Western military alliance has been seeking a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council for months but the forum seemed in jeopardy after an espionage dispute in October. 

The meeting of the council, a format used for dialog since 2002, will take place in Brussels on Jan. 12 after U.S. and Russian officials hold security talks on Jan. 10 in Geneva. 

The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, flew to Ukraine on Tuesday for a two-day trip to show support for Kyiv, which aspires to join the bloc and NATO. 

Moscow wants guarantees that NATO will halt its eastward expansion and end military cooperation with Ukraine and Georgia, which have territorial disputes with Russia. 

Moscow also denies U.S. assertions that it is planning an invasion of Ukraine and accuses Kyiv of building up its own forces in the east of the country. 

“Any dialog with Russia would have to proceed on the basis of reciprocity, address NATO’s concerns about Russia’s actions… and take place in consultation with NATO’s European partners,” the NATO official said. 

Maria Zakharova, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, confirmed that Russian officials will attend the NATO meeting in Brussels. 

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and other senior Russian officials are expected to attend the Brussels talks, after meeting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Geneva. 

On Jan. 13, talks will continue in the broader format of the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which includes the United States and its NATO allies, as well as Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet states. 

The EU’s Borrell, who was central to the bloc’s strategy of increased sanctions on top Russian officials in 2021, believes “the EU cannot be a neutral spectator in the negotiations if Russia really wants to discuss Europe’s security architecture,” according to an EU spokesperson. 

The European Union sees Ukraine as a “strategic partner,” the spokesperson said. 

Borrell, accompanied by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, will visit Ukraine’s contact line with Russian-backed separatist rebels during his visit. EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss their next steps later in January. 
…

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with eastern NATO allies Monday about Russia’s military buildup along Ukraine’s border, calling for a “united” NATO stance.

In a phone call Monday with his counterparts in nine eastern NATO countries, known as the Bucharest Nine, Blinken said the United States was committed to “close consultation and coordination with all of our Transatlantic Allies and partners as we work toward de-escalation through deterrence, defense and dialogue,” according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price. 

Blinken called for “a united, ready and resolute NATO stance for the collective defense of Allies” according to Price.

In addition, Blinken “underscored the United States’ unwavering commitment” to NATO’s Article 5, which calls for the joint defense of any member of the seven-decade-old military alliance, which formed after World War II. 

Ukraine is not a member of NATO but has petitioned to join the alliance for more than a decade, a stance that has angered Russia. 

Russia has been demanding that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and reduce its deployments in central and eastern Europe. 

In a Sunday phone call, U.S. President Joe Biden told Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the United States and its allies would “respond decisively” should Russia further invade Ukraine.

Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, with the West protesting and imposing sanctions.

Biden has made little progress with Russian President Vladimir Putin in getting him to withdraw about 100,000 troops stationed along Russia’s border with the former Soviet republic, although U.S. officials have said they do not believe Putin has decided to invade Ukraine.

The U.S. and Russian leaders held a 50-minute phone call last Thursday, with Biden again warning Putin that the United States and its Western allies would impose significant economic sanctions against Moscow if Putin were to carry out a Ukraine invasion. Biden said last month that he is not considering sending U.S. troops to Ukraine. 

The United States has been dispatching small arms and ammunition to Ukraine, along with Javelin missiles it says should be used only in defense.

The Kremlin said last week that Putin warned Biden that new U.S. sanctions on Russia could lead to a complete rupture in Washington-Moscow relations.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters. 

 
…

Five world powers have agreed to work together to stop the further spread of nuclear arms and to avoid nuclear conflict, according to a joint statement.

“We believe strongly that the further spread of such weapons must be prevented,” said the five permanent U.N. Security Council members China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States, collectively known as the P5.

“We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” the countries added.

The statement Monday from the P5 countries comes as tensions escalate between Western nations and Moscow over Russia’s troop buildup at its border with Ukraine. Relations between the U.S. and China are also strained over disagreements such as alleged human rights abuses by Beijing, disputes over the South China Sea and Chinese military flights near Taiwan.

Despite the tensions, the five nuclear powers said they saw “the avoidance of war between nuclear-weapon states and the reduction of strategic risks” as their “foremost responsibilities.”

The statement came after a scheduled review on Tuesday of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was postponed to later in the year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The five world powers said they were committed to a key article in the treaty, which calls for countries to work toward full disarmament of nuclear weapons in the future.

The Russian Foreign Ministry welcomed the declaration.

“We hope that, in the current difficult conditions of international security, the approval of such a political statement will help reduce the level of international tensions,” it said in a statement. 

Monday’s declaration also comes as diplomats resume talks aimed at reviving Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

The administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump quit the nuclear deal in 2018, saying it was not tough enough on Iran, and reimposed U.S. sanctions. Iran retaliated a year later by publicly exceeding nuclear activity limits agreed on as part of the 2015 deal. President Joe Biden has said he wants to honor the deal again if Iran does the same.

The U.S. has repeatedly warned that time is running out for Iran to agree to a new deal.

Some information in this report came from Reuters and Agence-France Presse. 
…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday the nation’s current surge of COVID-19 cases driven by the omicron variant is going to put “considerable” pressure on the National Health Service but that there is no need for new restrictions at this time. 

Johnson made the comments to reporters while visiting a vaccination center in Buckinghamshire. The prime minister said while his government will continuously monitor the situation, the current measures Britain has in place are the right ones to combat the spread of the virus. 

Last month, as new infections driven by the omicron variant began to rise, the government implemented what they called “Plan B” measures, which include working from home, if possible, the use of masks on public transportation and getting tested if going to meet someone you do not normally associate with, among other rules. 

Some students to wear masks 

The British health minister also issued a statement saying that beginning Tuesday, they recommend that secondary school students wear masks in the classroom. 

Johnson said the difference between Britain and much of the rest of Europe is its high rate of vaccination, and they are continuing to build up defenses against the virus with boosters.

He said one of the reasons he made the appearance at the vaccination center was to encourage people to get booster shots, saying, “a third jab really does make a big, big, difference.” The British prime minister said the majority of people currently in the country’s intensive care units have not been vaccinated, and about 90% have not been boosted. 

The highly transmissible omicron variant has caused Britain’s daily new caseload to soar over Christmas and the New Year’s weekend, with 137,583 infections and 73 deaths reported for England and Wales on Sunday, with numbers for Scotland and Northern Ireland to be announced after the holiday weekend. 

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.
…