Tuesday, February 22 top news briefs
Today is Tuesday, February 22. I am taking Alex’s place today. Ready for the top news briefs?
Ukraine-Russia crisis updates
Russian President Putin signed a decree to recognize two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine as independent states on Monday; Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic. Putin said he was confident that Russian citizens supported the decision.
This has drawn condemnation from around the world quickly including the NATO chief and UN Secretary-General. Putin has received no support from members of the United Nations Security Council at an emergency meeting for his actions.
The situation in Ukraine has caused economic shockwaves. Stocks in Russia are going down, and the cost of natural gas and oil is going up. A third of Europe is dependent on Russia for its natural gas needs, and news reports say some energy prices are already up fivefold. The situation may harm many economies around the world because inflation (cost of everyday living) would continue to rise and investors would pull back from projects out of fear of war.
Today, Putin asked the parliament for permission to use military force outside the country and got it granted. Several European leaders said earlier in the day that Russian troops have moved into both regions in eastern Ukraine after Putin recognized their independence.
This prompted financial sanctions from multiple nations. Germany halted the certification process for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that was to bring natural gas from Russia and the UK announced sanctions on Russian banks and oligarchs. The White House is expected to announce sanctions later today.
Even as alarm spread across the globe, Ukrainian president Zelenskyy told the country in an address: “We are not afraid of anyone or anything. We don’t owe anyone anything. And we won’t give anything to anyone.”
Biden announced the sanctions on Russia:
Full block on two large Russian financial institutions: VEB and their military bank
Cut off Russia's government from Western financing
Sever financial gains among Russia’s elites and their family members
Work with Germany to ensure that Nord Stem 2 will not move forward
England to end all Covid-19 restrictions
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said England would start a process to end all Covid-19 related rules and restrictions and pivot to “living with Covid.” One example of a rule change is that people will not be required by law to self-isolate after testing positive for the coronavirus. Another example is that workers will no longer be required to tell their bosses if they tested positive.
PM Boris said his government will continue to monitor for new and more dangerous variants, but he believes that the country’s efforts the past two years during the pandemic has allowed its residents to move from government restrictions to personal responsibility.
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Ahmaud Arbery’s killers were racially motivated, federal jury finds
Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and their neighbor William Bryan, three white men, were found guilty of all counts in the federal hate crime trial. They used force to intimidate and interfere with Arbery’s right to use a public street because of his race; a federal crime. That comes after all three were convicted in a state court in November of murder for the killing of Arbery, a Black man, after they chased him.
USWNT’s equal pay lawsuit settled
The U.S. Women’s National Soccer team has reached an agreement in its class action equal pay lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation. The federation has agreed to pay a lump sum of $22 million in back pay to the players and put $2 million into a fund for USWNT players’ post-career goals and charitable efforts. The US Soccer Federation has also promised to provide an equal rate of pay between the men’s and women’s national senior teams in all tournaments including the World Cup.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-698171
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/putin-support-security-council-ukraine-83037165
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/21/business/economy/ukraine-russia-economy.html
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/21/highlights-of-russian-president-putins-speech
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/21/uk/boris-johnson-drops-covid-restrictions-intl-gbr/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/22/us/ahmaud-arbery-hate-crime-trial-tuesday/index.html