Your Friday recap: Russia could invade in ‘coming days’, US warns

We are issuing US warnings about an impending Russian invasion of Ukraine and a change in South Korea’s Covid strategy.

US says Russia prepares to invade ‘in coming days’

Despite Russia’s insistence that it is withdrawing troops from its border with Ukraine, US officials warn that an invasion is about to happen.

Foreign Minister Antony Blinken told the United Nations Security Council that “Russian forces, including ground troops, aircraft, warships, are preparing to launch an attack against Ukraine in the coming days.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who met the head of NATO in Brussels, said Russia continues to send troops closer to the Ukrainian border, sending more fighter jets and stocking up on blood to prevent casualties on the battlefield.

President Biden warned that the threat of an attack remained “very high”. We have live updates.

On the ground: Bullet attacked a town in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, damaging a kindergarten and injuring three adult civilians. Ukraine blamed Russia-backed separatists, while the Kremlin said the “Ukrainian side” launched the first offensive. The fire exchange raised fears of escalation.

Diplomatic: The US State Department revealed that Russia expelled the number 2 US diplomat in Moscow. In addition, in an official response to US proposals on the crisis, the Kremlin said it was not planning any invasion but if the US did not agree to its demands, including including reducing NATO’s presence in Eastern Europe, “forced to answer“With military action.

Analysis: After 30 years of peace after the Cold War, the Ukraine crisis is shake the feeling of complacency in many EuropeansOur main diplomatic correspondent in Europe writes.

Canadian police prepare to crack down

A confrontation between protesters and police emerged in Ottawa on Thursday. Ontario police forces gather outside downtown Ottawa for a clear preparations to end trucker protests has brought traffic there to a standstill for the past few weeks.

The police sent written notices to the protesters, warning they leave the area or face penalties. A team of workers erected a wire fence around the Parliament building in the city center.

Inside the building, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged protesters to go home. “It’s time for these illegal and dangerous activities to stop, including in Ottawa,” he said.

Many people oppose swear to stay. One protester said their instructions were to stay in the van, lock the door and not open it to anyone, including the police. This is the latest information.

Story: Protests began weeks ago with a group of truckers protesting against demands that they be vaccinated against the coronavirus to cross the US-Canada border. With help from right-wing activiststhe protests erupted into a broader movement against anti-pandemic measures and Trudeau in general.

After two years of effectively fighting major outbreaks of Covid-19 with an extensive and heavy three T strategy – testing, tracing and handling – South Korean authorities have announced a plan. new game: “choose and focus”. The country is asking patients who test positive to take care of themselves at home, while redirecting resources to those most at risk of death.

The government considers this change necessary to deal with the rise of Omicron. Until last year, South Korea had never had more than 7,849 confirmed cases per day. But when Omicron became dominant, the daily deposit spiked to 93,135 on Thursday. The government expects up to 170,000 new patients a day by the end of this month.

Critics say the government’s new approach is detrimental to vulnerable groups, such as the poor, without medical care or other social services. The new strategy will focus on people aged 60 and over and those with pre-existing conditions – give them home treatment kits and call twice a day to check on their condition.

This is the latest updates and map of the pandemic.

In other developments of the virus:

LATEST NEWS

Olympic

A Canadian journalist based in Kabul has followed his longtime friend and translator as he flees economic turmoil and political turmoil to find a new life in Europe. The journalist, Matthieu Aikins, secretly disguised himself as an immigrant with the name “Habib”, allowing him to Experience and document the life of a refugee.

ARTS AND IDEAS

The life of street children

A street child in Lusaka, Zambia, finds another boy dead in a mountain of trash. Who is he, and who killed him? That is the mystery at the heart of “Walking the Bowl,” a new nonfiction book by Chris Lockhart and Daniel Mulilo Chama.

Lockhart, an American anthropologist, and Chama, a Zambian outreach worker, teamed up with a group of former street youths who helped them gather information. The story is about a bustling 17-year-old boy; a frail eight-year-old alone in the city; 16-year-old prostitute planning to run away; and Lusabilo, an observant 11-year-old boy who picks up trash. Their lives revolve around each other; It turns out that each of them played an important role in the boy’s death.

“Everyday life, meticulously documented, rarely has the character of a novel,” writes Ellen Barry, a mental health reporter for The Times who was previously an international correspondent. one review, “a clear arc of ascending action, a few lively characters, an ending that closes like a purse. “Walking the Bowl,” notably, has all of that. “

PLAY, WATCH, EAT

What to cook?

Add fried egg, smoky yogurt sauce and crispy almonds this sweet potato into a satisfying, meat-free meal.

What to read

Learn about the lives of the rich princes over the past 5 centuries in “The Heirs” by Laura Thompson.

What to see

“A Party” asks the audience to consider the overlap between fact and fiction, psychosis and indoctrination.