While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Feb 15
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A Russian army service member fires a howitzer during drills at the Kuzminsky range, Russia, on Jan 26, 2022.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Russia says it will keep talking over Ukraine; US says threat building
Russia suggested on Monday (Feb 14) that it was ready to keep talking to the West to try to defuse a security crisis, while the United States said Moscow was adding to its military capabilities by the day for a potential attack on Ukraine.
Russia has more than 100,000 troops massed near the border of Ukraine. It denies Western accusations that it is planning an invasion, but says it could take unspecified "military-technical" action unless a range of demands are met, including barring Kyiv from ever joining the Nato alliance.
In a televised exchange, President Vladimir Putin was shown asking his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, whether there was a chance of an agreement to address Russia's security concerns, or whether it was just being dragged into tortuous negotiations.
Canada's Trudeau invokes emergency powers, seeks to halt protest funding
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans to invoke rarely used special measures allowing him to tackle protests that have shut some border crossings and paralysed downtown Ottawa, sources said on Monday (Feb 14).
In the province of Alberta on Monday, police said they broke up an armed group that was prepared to use violence to back a blockade at a border crossing with the United States, authorities said.
Trudeau plans to use the 1988 Emergencies Act, which allows the federal government to override the provinces and authorize special temporary measures to ensure security during national emergencies, the sources said.
Canada's Ontario to lift some pandemic measures, Alberta ends masks in schools
The Canadian province of Ontario said it will speed up its plan to remove proof-of-vaccination requirements and lift pandemic-related capacity limits for many businesses while the western province of Alberta ended its mask requirements for school children on Monday (Feb 14).
The moves, which the provinces' premiers attributed to a waning Omicron wave, comes as protesters opposed to pandemic measures closed three border crossings with the United States and paralysed parts of Ottawa for three weeks.
Ontario, Canada's most populous province, said coronavirus infections peaked last month and new hospitalisations have been declining week over week, signalling that the worst of the Omicron variant-driven Covid-19 wave was over.
Johnson & Johnson defends talc bankruptcy in court
A Johnson & Johnson subsidiary on Monday (Feb 14) kicked off a courtroom battle that aims to use the bankruptcy process to resolve tens of thousands of claims that the company's baby powder and other talc-based products caused cancer.
More than 38,000 plaintiffs have alleged the company's talc products caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, a deadly cancer linked to asbestos exposure.
J&J maintains that its consumer talc products are safe and confirmed through thousands of tests to be asbestos-free.
Football: Eriksen plays in first game since collapse on pitch
Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen marked his 30th birthday with a first appearance since his cardiac arrest in June last year, registering one assist in Brentford's 3-2 friendly win over fifth-tier club Southend United.
Eriksen, who joined Brentford as a free agent in January, played for about an hour in a friendly match behind closed doors, nearly eight months after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch during a European Championship match.
His former club Inter Milan ended his contract in December as he is not allowed to play in Serie A due to his heart starter device (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator).
