Thursday, 6 January 2022

Thursday Briefing: Biden to call Trump a threat to democracy on U.S. Capitol attack anniversary

Thursday, January 6, 2022

by Linda Noakes

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Here's what you need to know.

Russia sends troops to Kazakhstan to put down a deadly uprising, Novak Djokovic is in limbo as lawyers battle over his Australian entry ban, and Ghislaine Maxwell is to seek a new trial

Today's biggest stories

The U.S. Capitol is seen through a steam exhaust on the first anniversary of the attack by supporters of former President Donald Trump, January 6, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

U.S.


President Joe Biden will accuse his predecessor Donald Trump of posing a continuing threat to democracy today, the anniversary of the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters who tried to overturn his election defeat.

Election officials in Arizona's most populous county found nearly every conclusion in a partisan "audit" of Trump's loss in the 2020 presidential election to be misleading or false, according to an official rebuttal.

As Democrats struggled to move forward on broad new voting rights legislation, the U.S. Senate's top Republican Mitch McConnell signaled interest in changing an 1887 law that allows members of Congress to dispute presidential election results.

Louisiana's governor posthumously pardoned Homer Plessy, the plaintiff in the landmark 1896 U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld the "separate but equal" doctrine and laid the legal foundation for decades of racial segregation.

Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted last week of aiding Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuses, deserves a new trial, her lawyer said after a juror told media including Reuters that he had been a victim of sexual abuse.

A man walks past a car that was burned during protests in Almaty, Kazakhstan, January 6, 2022. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev

WORLD


Russia has sent paratroopers into Kazakhstan as part of an international peacekeeping force to quell deadly unrest in the central Asian country, a military alliance of former Soviet states said. Earlier, Kazakh police said forces had "eliminated" tens of rioters in the largest city of Almaty as the unrest sparked by rising fuel prices boiled over into the biggest protests since independence in 1991.

Italy made COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for people from the age of 50, one of very few European countries to take a similar step, in an attempt to ease pressure on its health service and reduce fatalities. Meanwhile, France's parliament approved President Emmanuel Macron's plans for a vaccine pass to help curb the spread of the Omicron variant after a tumultuous debate whipped up by Macron's comments that he wanted to "piss off" the unvaccinated.

Novak Djokovic was denied entry into Australia amid a storm of protest about a decision to grant him a medical exemption from COVID-19 vaccination requirements to play in the Australian Open. The world number one tennis player was holed up in a quarantine hotel in Melbourne after his lawyers secured an agreement for him to remain in the country for a court hearing on Monday.

Internet and mobile services appeared to be disrupted in Sudan ahead of the latest round of planned protests against a military takeover that upended a transition towards elections. We look at how Sudan's transition needs a reset after the civilian leader's exit put the military back in the driving seat.

Three men and a woman were cleared of causing criminal damage for helping to pull down a statue of a 17th century slave trade magnate and throw it into Bristol Harbour in southwest England during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. The incident prompted a national debate about memorials to figures linked to the slave trade or Britain's colonial past, with some government ministers arguing the action amounted to the censoring of history.

BUSINESS

Stock markets were deep in the red and some key government bond yields climbed to their highest in years after the Federal Reserve signaled the possibility of faster-than-expected U.S. rate hikes and stimulus withdrawal. We look at how investors are bracing for quantitative tightening as the Fed sends a hawkish message.

World food prices jumped 28% in 2021 to their highest level in a decade and hopes for a return to more stable market conditions this year are slim, the U.N.'s food agency said. Higher food prices have contributed to a broader surge in inflation as economies recover from the coronavirus crisis.

Cryptocurrency-linked crime surged to a record high last year in terms of value, with illegal addresses receiving $14 billion in digital currencies, up 79% from $7.8 billion in 2020, according to a blog from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis.

France's data privacy watchdog said it had fined Alphabet's Google a record 150 million euros ($169 million) for making it difficult for internet users to refuse online trackers known as cookies. Meta Platforms' Facebook was also fined 60 million euros for the same reason.

The second-largest investor in Japan's Toshiba called for an extraordinary general meeting, seeking to force the company to win two-thirds support for a three-way breakup plan that has angered some major overseas shareholders.

Quote of the day

"It should make business sense for a vaccine manufacturer to aim to vaccinate the whole world"

Tie pharma CEO pay to fair global COVID-19 vaccine access, say investors

Video of the day

U.S. Capitol riot timeline: How events unfolded

On January 6th, 2021, Donald Trump's supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol in a failed attempt to overturn his election defeat, the worst assault on the seat of the federal government since the War of 1812. Here's a look at the key events of the day.

And finally…

Bearing Christmas cheer but no sweets, the Three Wise Men return to Madrid

Flanked by dancers and camels the Three Wise Men paraded down Madrid's central avenue atop glittering floats as traditional Epiphany celebrations returned - with restrictions.

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