BitGou: Monday Morning Briefing: Vaccine nationalism puts world on brink of 'catastrophic moral failure,' says WHO chief Tedros

What you need to know about the coronavirus today

Vaccine nationalism risks ‘catastrophic moral failure,’ WHO chief says
The world is on the brink of a “catastrophic moral failure” on distributing vaccines, the head of the World Health Organization said, urging countries and manufacturers to share COVID-19 doses more fairly.

For example, more than 39 million doses of vaccine have been administered in 49 higher-income countries whereas in one poor country, just 25 doses have been given, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Track the daily COVID-19 infections and deaths data for 240 countries and territories around the world.

Economy picks up speed in China but so do infections
China’s economy picked up speed in the fourth quarter, with growth beating expectations and poised to expand further this year even as the global pandemic rages unabated. The country reported more than 100 new COVID-19 cases for the sixth consecutive day, with rising infections in the northeast fueling concerns of another national wave when hundreds of millions travel for the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday.

Japan to press ahead with Olympics
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga vowed to forge ahead with preparations to hold the Tokyo Olympics this summer, in the face of growing public opposition as Japan battles a surge in coronavirus infections. The International Olympic Committee expects only 6,000 athletes at the opening ceremony, just over half of initial estimates, as organizers enforce precautions.

Tennis causes tensions with stranded Australians
As top tennis stars descended on Melbourne for the upcoming grand slam, many Australians questioned the decision to host the tournament when thousands of citizens are stranded overseas due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Singapore wants its airline to be first to vaccinate staff
Singapore urged workers at its national airline to help make it the world’s first carrier with all staff vaccinated against COVID-19. The island state is planning to host events such as the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting and the Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security summit in a few months’ time.

Germany says new COVID variants require new measures
Germany’s health minister said new measures would be needed to slow the spread of new, more infectious variants of the coronavirus, including more health checks for cross-border commuters and intensified gene sequencing of virus samples.

From Breakingviews - Corona Capital: Eurostar, Remote work, HDFC Bank.
Britain’s reluctance to throw Eurostar a lifeline looks increasingly odd and India’s top private lender is relatively unscarred by the pandemic. Catch up with the latest financial insights.

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U.S.

Gun rights activists will converge on the Virginia state capital for an annual demonstration that falls at an especially tense time this year, after the Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol and two days before the presidential inauguration. “Lobby Day” has authorities on alert in Richmond, about 110 miles south of Washington, D.C., where Joe Biden will be sworn in on Wednesday, replacing Donald Trump.

Law enforcement officers far outnumbered protesters at state capitol grounds on Sunday, as few Trump supporters who believe the president’s false claim that he won the 2020 election turned out for what authorities feared could be violent demonstrations. More than a dozen states activated National Guard troops to help secure their capitol buildings following an FBI warning of armed demonstrations, with right-wing extremists emboldened by the deadly attack on the Capitol.

Twitter locked the account of Republican U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a political newcomer known for promoting the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory. The social media platform suspended her account after the newly elected Georgia congresswoman sparred with a state election official over baseless voter fraud allegations. Greene’s account “has been temporarily locked out for multiple violations” of Twitter’s ‘civic integrity policy’, a company representative said in a statement.

Joe Biden is planning to cancel the permit for the $9 billion Keystone XL pipeline project as one of his first acts in office, and perhaps as soon as his first day, according to a source familiar with his thinking. Trump had made building the pipeline a central promise of his presidential campaign. Biden, on the other hand, was vice president in the Obama administration when it rejected the project as contrary to its efforts to combat climate change.

World

Hundreds of Honduran migrants huddled overnight on a highway in eastern Guatemala after domestic security forces used sticks and tear gas to halt the passage of a U.S.-bound caravan just days before President-elect Joe Biden takes office. As many as 8,000 migrants, including families with young children, have entered Guatemala since Friday, authorities say, fleeing poverty and lawlessness in a region rocked by the coronavirus pandemic and back-to-back hurricanes in November.

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was rushed to a court hearing inside a police station, a day after he was detained at a Moscow airport when flying home for the first time since he was poisoned last summer. The United Nations and Western nations told Russia to immediately free the opposition leader and some countries called for new sanctions. Moscow told them to mind their own business.

Business and Tech

Exclusive: Trump admin slams China's Huawei, halting shipments from Intel, others

The Trump administration notified Huawei suppliers, including chipmaker Intel, that it is revoking certain licenses to sell to the Chinese company and intends to reject dozens of other applications to supply the telecommunications firm, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

6 min read