| | | French President Emmanual Macron headed to Moscow today on a daring diplomatic dash that could make or break both Europe and his career. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson desperately clings to power as Queen Elizabeth II serenely celebrated 70 years on the throne. Avalanches have claimed the lives of at least 11 people in Austria and Switzerland since Thursday. And the Mayor of Ottawa, Canada, has reached the end of his tether with truckers’ anti-vax protests in his city. All this and more in today’s PDB. | | |
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| IMPORTANT | 1 - Macron the Miracle-Maker? French President to Visit Moscow and Ukraine in Attempt to Avert War President Emmanuel Macron embarked on a bold but risky attempt today to stave off a Russian invasion of Ukraine — and ultimately reshape Europe’s security architecture. The French leader envisions a Europe with somewhat closer ties to Russia … which has been cozying up to China … and reduced dependence on the United States. Macron will visit President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday before traveling to Kyiv tomorrow. The trip comes as White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned that a Russian attack could come “any day now.” The stakes are high for Macron, who faces a general election in April. (Sources NY Times, Reuters) |
| | | 2 - BoJo and the Queen UK Prime Minister Hangs On as Queen Celebrates 70 Graceful Years It was a tale of two Sundays for the U.K.’s heads of state. Boris Johnson reshuffled his cabinet as he vied to remain in power amid a maelstrom of scandals. Meanwhile, across London, Queen Elizabeth II privately celebrated 70 years on the throne — the longest reign in British history. Opposition leader Keir Starmer, who for weeks has been calling on the “pathetic” PM to “do the decent thing,” expressed his “deepest thanks” for the Queen’s “unparalleled public service.” Tory insiders say a vote of no confidence in Johnson could happen this week. (Sources: The Guardian, BBC, Liverpool Echo) |
| 3 - Austrian Avalanche Tragedies Nine Die in Three Days as Austria Hit By Unprecedented Avalanches Austrian rescue services conducted at least 70 interventions and tallied nine deaths this weekend as more than 100 avalanches struck in three days. Heavy snowfall followed by a period of warmer weather made for especially dangerous conditions. The deadliest incident took place Friday, when a group of six Swedish skiers and their guide were swept away while going off-piste near Ischgl — only one of the six survived. On Saturday, a 58-year-old Austrian man was killed in an avalanche near Innsbruck that injured four others. At least two people have been killed by avalanches in neighboring Switzerland since Thursday. (Sources: AP, The Guardian) |
| 4 - No More Truckin’ State of Emergency Called in Canada Over Trucker Protests Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson has declared a state of emergency in response to a weeklong truckers’ protest. The “Freedom Convoy” kicked off last month after the introduction of a new rule mandating that all truckers crossing the US-Canada border must be vaccinated against COVID-19, but has since become a lightning rod for anti-government sentiment. A recent poll suggested that 68% of Canadians felt they had “very little in common” with the protesters. The state of emergency gives the city additional powers, and Watson suggested Ottawa would step up enforcement to “get our city back.” (Source: BBC) |
| 5 - Briefly Here are some things you should know about today: A Bitter End. A Navy SEAL candidate has died in Coronado, California, and another was hospitalized after participating in “Hell Week,” the final week of the first phase of training. (Source: ABC News) Cyclone Batters Madagascar. Cyclone Batsirai has killed at least 10 people in Madagascar, while 48,000 more have been forced from their homes. (Source: Al Jazeera) Olaf Comes to Washington. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s first visit to the White House will be overshadowed by Macron’s mad dash to Moscow. Though the leaders have divergent stances on Ukraine, both have faced criticism. (Source: DW) |
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| | | Watch Jalen Rose His Recipe for Greatness: Be a Little Crazy
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| INTRIGUING | | | 1 - Child's Play Playing With Dolls Helps Children Talk About Emotions Move aside Lego. Recent research suggests that playing imaginary games with dolls can develop empathy. The study, funded by Mattel, the manufacturers of Barbie, monitored the speech and brain activity of 33 boys and girls as they played with dolls and with other toys. The children were found to talk more about the thoughts and emotions of others when playing with dolls. Benjamin Mardell, a researcher on the pedagogy of play at Harvard (who was not involved in the study), said the finding would likely apply to “any object that the child can invest a sense of other into.” (Source: The Guardian) |
| 2 - Coal on My Mind Georgia Power to Retire Coal-Fired Power by 2035 The utility announced it will replace coal-fired power with renewables and natural gas by 2028, shuttering 12 coal units producing 3500 MW. The company’s final two coal units will be closed in 2035. The initial gap will be filled by 2300 MW of electricity generated from fracked natural gas and 2,300 MW of renewable energy. The company hopes to produce up to 6000 MW of renewables by 2035. Acknowledging the move as a “step in the right direction,” Charline Whyte, of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign, added that a quicker transition to clean energy “would save customers money immediately.” (Source: The Hill) |
| 3 - Deciphering Dog Years Your Dog Could Help us Better Understand Canine Aging It’s long been said that one dog year equals seven human years, but anyone who’s owned a pooch will know that ankle-biters can easily live 20 years, twice as long as large breeds. The Dog Aging Project has signed up 32,000 mutts to develop a thorough understanding of canine aging, but they’re not done yet. Project co-leader Joshua Akey of Princeton University’s Lewis-Sigler Institute is still recruiting dogs of all ages, breeds and sizes across the United States. Akey is particularly interested in finding the key to superlongevity through DNA analysis of the 300 longest lived dogs in the dataset. (Source: Science Daily) |
| 4 - Farewell India’s Nightingale Legendary Indian Singer Lata Mangeshkar Dies at 92 The Hindi songstress known as “the Nightingale of India” has died after contracting COVID-19 in January. In a remarkable career that began when she was 13 years old and spanned the history of independent India, Mangeshkar recorded 27,000 songs for Bollywood and regional films. Her popularity extended across South Asia — her voice instantly recognizable to over a billion people. The soft-spoken star, known for her characteristic schoolgirl-like braids, will be given a state funeral. “I am anguished beyond words,” tweeted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “She leaves a void in our nation that cannot be filled.” (Source: Al Jazeera) |
| 5 - Super Senegal Africa’s Highest-Ranking Soccer Team Wins First African Cup of Nations The final, which had been billed as a battle between Liverpool stars Sadio Mané (of Senegal) and Mohamed Salah (of Egypt) almost ended up being defined by the heroic efforts of Egyptian goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal, aka Gabaski. Gabal, who was able to keep a dominant Senegal side at bay for over 120 minutes of open play, was finally breached when Mané kept his head with the final kick of the tournament to deservedly win the match 4-2 on penalties. A tournament that had been plagued by COVID-19, nearby political coups and a deadly stampede finally got its fairytale ending. (Sources: ESPN, SuperSport) |
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