Good morning.
The US and Germany have increased warnings to Russia that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will not open if Moscow invades Ukraine, as efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis continue.
The multibillion-dollar pipeline, which would more than double the supply of Russian natural gas to Germany, has been completed but it requires testing and regulatory approval.
“If Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another Nord Stream 2 will not move forward,” said Victoria Nuland, the US undersecretary of state for political affairs. “I think the statements coming out of Berlin even today are very, very strong.”
What is Russia asking for? It denies planning to invade but last month demanded a number of security guarantees. The main one, which was rejected, was that Ukraine be indefinitely barred from joining Nato.
What else has the US offered? Joe Biden told the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, that the US was considering offering economic support. It has provided $650m in military assistance in the past year.
Could Nato troops be involved? Nato has put 8,500 troops on standby. There are more than 100,000 Russian soldiers at its border.
Sarah Palin repeatedly dined out after positive Covid test
The former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been spotted dining out on multiple occasions in New York despite testing positive for Covid.
The ex-Alaska governor, who is unvaccinated, was seen eating outdoors in the upper east side restaurant Elio’s on Wednesday after a positive test, according to photos published by Mediaite. Palin, who confirmed her positive test on Monday, was also seen dining outdoors on Tuesday night at Campagnola, according to Gothamist. CDC guidelines state that people with Covid-19 should isolate for a minimum of five days to avoid infecting others.
What has the reaction been? City officials have said Palin needs to “follow the rules just like everyone else”, saying she has shown “a complete disregard” for the safety of others.
Killings in LA highlight crisis of gun violence facing Black women
Three recent killings in Los Angeles have highlighted the way gun violence affects Black women and girls and the lack of coverage their stories receive.
On 8 January, officials found the body of Tioni Theus, 16, on the 110 freeway. She had been shot. Two weeks later, on 23 January, sisters Breahna Stines, 20, and Marneysha Hamilton, 25, were among four people shot dead at Stines’ birthday party in Inglewood.
Neither case received much attention beyond local media. Authorities this week announced a $110,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in Theus’s case, an intervention that her family and Black Los Angeles residents had been calling for weeks.
By how much have killings increased over the pandemic? Homicides rose by 30% between 2019 and 2020 in California and across the US, the biggest single-year increase in the 60 years the FBI has been tracking such data.
In California, homicides of Black women nearly doubled in 2020. A total of 99 women were killed, compared with 55 in 2019, according to FBI data analyzed for the Guardian.
In other news …
The death toll from Tropical Storm Ana has risen to 77 after three southern African countries were battered by torrential rain this week. Madagascar declared a state of national disaster on Thursday night as the toll climbed to 48. Mozambique reported 18 dead and Malawi 11.
The death on Tuesday of a 37-year-old Polish woman who had been refused an abortion has sparked protests against Poland’s restrictive abortion laws. Although her cause of death has not been confirmed by the hospital, the family of Agnieszka T suspect she died of sepsis and accuse the government of having “blood on its hands”.
A convoy of truckers is heading from Vancouver to Ottawa to protest against Canadian vaccine requirements and other public health measures. Alongside support from Canadian conservatives, the group have received endorsements by Donald Trump Jr and Elon Musk.
Stat of the day: average American produces 585 times more CO2 emissions than a Congolese person
The average American produces climate emissions 585 times higher than someone from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, analysis by the Center for Global Development (CGD) has found. The research, which underlines the “vast energy inequality” between rich and poor nations, was prompted after the “climate hypocrisy” of rich countries at Cop26 caught the attention of Euan Ritchie, a policy analyst at CGD Europe.
Don’t miss this: Inside the Encanto-mania sweeping the world
Disney’s 60th animated feature film, Encanto, came out as the Omicron variant emerged, denting its box office success. But two months on, the animated movie, which is soundtracked by Lin-Manuel Miranda and is partly about the challenge of living up to family expectations, is having a cultural moment. The movie has particularly resonated with Latinx audiences, with the producer, Yvett Merino, saying: “I heard how hard my parents worked to give us a better life. You hold that in you … I think that’s really part of what hits, what is connecting with people.”
Last Thing: Lithuanian girl’s letter from Polish penpal delivered 51 years late
What with the pandemic and shipping crisis, many people have become resigned to occasional delays in getting their mail. Few expect to wait 51 years, though, as Genovefa Klonovska, a Lithuanian woman in her 60s, did. The letter, from a penpal in Poland she can no longer remember, was one of several to fall out of a ventilation shaft in an old post office over the summer. “It’s so good that the letter was inconsequential. The loss was not life-changing,” said Klonovska. “What if they delivered a lost letter from a suitor to his love, and their wedding never happened?”
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