News
*) Russia begins joint military drills with Belarus Russia and Belarus have launched joint military drills. This comes despite Western concerns that Moscow is plotting an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. Russia's defence ministry says the exercises would centre around "suppressing and repelling external aggression.” The exercises are scheduled to continue until February 20 in Belarus. Meanwhile, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is in Moscow for talks with her Russian counterpart. She will urge the Kremlin not to attack Ukraine or face “massive consequences” from Western sanctions. *) Libya PM Dbeibah survives 'assassination' bid Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah has escaped unharmed from an assassination attempt. Unidentified persons shot at his car in the capital Tripoli, media reports said. The assailants managed to escape the scene. The attack comes as factional wrangling over control of the government intensifies. *) UN court orders Uganda to pay DRC $325M in war damages The UN's top court has ordered Uganda to pay the Democratic Republic of Congo $325 million in reparations over a brutal war two decades ago. Uganda must pay $225 million for damage to persons, $40 million for damage to property, and $60 million for damage to natural resources. The International Court of Justice’s ruling comes after a long battle for compensation over the conflict that left thousands dead between 1998 and 2003. *) Ford plant shuts down as Canada truck blockade hardens Truck blockades of Canada's capital and US border crossings have forced the shutdown of a Ford plant. The company has warned the protests against Covid-19 rules could have widespread implications for the North American auto industry. The blockade by people mostly in pickup trucks has affected the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. The bridge carries 25 percent of all trade between the two countries. And finally … *) Dozens of SpaceX satellites tumbling out of orbit after solar storm SpaceX’s newest fleet of satellites has been falling out of orbit after being struck by a solar storm. Up to 40 of the 49 small satellites launched last week have either reentered the atmosphere and burned up, or are on the verge of doing so. SpaceX said a geomagnetic storm last Friday made the atmosphere denser. Ground controllers tried to save the flat-panel satellites by putting them into a type of hibernation and flying them in a way to minimise drag. But the atmospheric pull was too great, and the satellites failed to awaken and climb to a higher orbit, according to the company.