Shelling on Ukraine border raises worry
A spike in shelling is heightening fears that Russia might declare a pretext to invade Ukraine.
Residents close to Ukraine’s entrance line scrambled into basements for canopy as exchanges of artillery fireplace with the separatist forces reached their most intense stage in months. The Ukrainian navy mentioned shelling there broken a kindergarten and wounded three grownup civilians.
Perhaps most worrisome, Russian-backed separatists claimed that that they had come below fireplace from the Ukrainians — exactly the type of incident Western officers have warned that Russia may attempt to use to justify navy motion.
President Biden warned that the specter of an assault remained “very high.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken instructed the U.N. that Russia’s floor and air forces had been “preparing to launch an attack against Ukraine in the coming days.”
The talks: Russia repeated its menace of unspecified “military-technical measures” until its safety calls for in Eastern Europe had been met. But the Kremlin sounded constructive notes about diplomacy.
Ottawa prepares for confrontation
Ontario’s police pressure mobilized in and round Ottawa to finish the trucker protests and started to make arrests.
The authorities issued a stream of warnings by way of the day, saying {that a} crackdown was “imminent.” They mentioned demonstrators who didn’t transfer out of the best way could possibly be arrested or face an array of authorized penalties.
Among these arrested final night time was Tamara Lich, 47, one of many protests’ most important organizers, in accordance with Dagny Pawlak, a spokeswoman for the protest.
The police closed off exits resulting in the town heart on the Trans-Canada Highway, and downtown was closed to outsiders. The variety of vehicles has dwindled, however a whole lot of them nonetheless stay. Heavy snow and below-freezing temperatures are anticipated at present, which may complicate the motion of heavy vehicles.
“It is high time that these illegal and dangerous activities stop, including here in Ottawa,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mentioned yesterday.
Many protesters vowed to remain put. One mentioned the protest leaders’ directions had been to stay of their vehicles, lock the doorways and never open them for anybody, together with the police.
Cases are down, however eyes are on subvariant
The Omicron surge appears to be slowing in a lot of the world, however the W.H.O. mentioned it was maintaining a tally of an Omicron subvariant.
New instances worldwide dropped 19 p.c from Feb. 7 to Feb. 13 in contrast with the week earlier than. But, the company added, the drop in testing charges all over the world means international case numbers won’t replicate the true unfold of the virus.
The W.H.O. additionally cautioned that the subvariant of Omicron, BA.2, seemed to be “steadily increasing” and was now the dominant variant in China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
Denmark was the primary nation to report that BA.2 had overtaken BA.1, the model of Omicron that first swept by way of the world.
Reminder: Scientists have mentioned there isn’t any proof that BA.2 is extra deadly than BA.1, although BA.2 may sluggish Omicron’s decline. Vaccines look like simply as efficient in opposition to BA.2 as they’re in opposition to different types of Omicron.
Here are the most recent updates and maps of the pandemic.
In different virus developments:
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ARTS AND IDEAS
The lives of road kids
A road youngster in Lusaka, Zambia, finds one other boy useless in a mountain of trash. Who was he, and who killed him? That’s the thriller on the coronary heart of “Walking the Bowl,” a brand new nonfiction guide by Chris Lockhart and Daniel Mulilo Chama.
Lockhart, an American anthropologist, and Chama, a Zambian outreach employee, partnered with a crew of former road kids who helped them collect info. The story follows a 17-year-old hustler; a spindly 8-year-old who’s alone within the metropolis; a 16-year-old intercourse employee planning her escape; and Lusabilo, an observant 11-year-old boy who scavenges by way of trash. Their lives twine round each other; every, it seems, has performed a key function within the boy’s dying.
“Daily life, meticulously recorded, rarely has the attributes of a novel,” Ellen Barry, a psychological well being reporter for The Times, writes in a evaluate, “a clean arc of ascending action, a handful of vivid characters, an ending that snaps shut like a purse. ‘Walking the Bowl,’ remarkably, has all of those.”
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
What to Cook
Adding fried eggs, a smoky yogurt sauce and crunchy almonds turns this candy potato dish right into a satisfying, meatless meal.
What to Read
Get a glimpse into the lives of wealthy daughters over the previous 5 centuries in “Heiresses,” by Laura Thompson.
What to Watch
“A Banquet” asks audiences to think about the overlaps between actuality and fantasy, psychosis and evangelism.
Now Time to Play
Here’s at present’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Endpoint of an annual humpback whale migration from Alaska (4 letters).
Here’s at present’s Wordle. (If you’re anxious about your stats streak, play within the browser you’ve been utilizing.)
And right here is the Spelling Bee.
You can discover all our puzzles right here.
That’s it for at present’s briefing. Thanks for becoming a member of me. — Melina
P.S. David Gelles, a Times enterprise reporter, is becoming a member of the Climate desk to cowl the intersection of enterprise and local weather coverage.
The newest episode of “The Daily” is in regards to the U.S. response to the disaster in Ukraine.
You can attain the crew at briefing@nytimes.com.