Biden warns Putin may be preparing to use chemical weapons in Ukraine – CBC News

U.S. President Joe Biden says that Russian President Vladimir Putin, with his ‘back against the wall,’ is preparing ‘new false flags’ in Ukraine and could deploy biological and chemical weapons.

Russia fires official who said China refused to supply aircraft parts

Russian aviation authorities have fired an official who said last week that China had refused to supply Russian airlines with aircraft parts in the wake of Western sanctions, the Kommersant newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing sources and the official. Valery Kudinov, an official at Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) responsible for maintaining airplane airworthiness,

Ireland Will Soon Pay Arts and Culture Workers a Basic Income to Help the Sector Bounce Back From the Pandemic

Details are still being hammered out ahead of a January 27 deadline. Artists and culture workers in Ireland will soon be eligible for some much-needed financial support as the government readies a new basic income program. Ireland will commit roughly €25 million ($28.3 million) to the program, which it expects to implement early this year. It

Gravitas: Omicron Surge: Troops deployed to London hospitals – WION

The British Armed Forces have sent 200 personnel into NHS hospitals across London to plug staff shortages. Last week, 9.5 million people worldwide tested positive for the Wuhan virus. Palki Sharma brings you a report.

Let’s talk about foreign policy concepts you’ll need soon – Beau of the Fifth Column

EU considers sanctions against Belarus airline over migrant arrivals

EU foreign ministers are considering possible sanctions against Belarusia’s national airline over allegations that it is transporting migrants from Iraq in order to push them across the country’s border into the bloc. Several ministers want to stop EU-registered companies leasing aircraft to the country’s national airline Belavia. This would ban European companies from doing any

Former Irish PM warns countries not to make deals with Boris Johnson’s government after Dominic Cummings claims plan to ‘ditch bits’ of Brexit treaty they didn’t like

Boris Johnson’s former chief advisor claimed their plan was always to “ditch bits” of the Brexit treaty. Leo Varadkar, the former Irish PM, says this suggests the UK government negotiated in bad faith. Varadkar warned the world from making deals with a government that doesn’t “honour its agreements.” Leo Varadkar, the former Irish prime minister,

Russia excluded from 30-country meeting to fight ransomware and cyber crime

Russia was not invited to attend a 30-country virtual meeting led by the United States that is aimed at combating the growing threat of ransomware and other cyber crime, a senior administration official said. Many ransomware gangs operate from Ukraine and Russia, private sector cybersecurity experts say. Some U.S. officials and analysts have said Russian

Ireland set to agree historical minimum corporate tax rate

Ireland is expected to adopt a 15% minimum corporate tax rate after several months of negotiations with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Sources close to Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe say the Irish government “needs certainty around the rate”, and assurances that Ireland won’t be forced to increase it further. Much of

U.N. Security Council to discuss Ethiopia expulsion of U.N. staff

The United Nations Security Council will privately discuss on Friday a decision by Ethiopia to expel seven senior U.N. officials, diplomats said, as malnutrition rates rise and famine looms in the country’s war-torn northern region of Tigray. The United States, Britain, Ireland, Estonia, France and Norway, plan to raise the issue during a closed-door meeting