Graphic News Planner (news) 28/01/2022 17:19:56

January 28, 2022 -- Around 130,000 Russian troops – equipped with everything from tanks and artillery to ammunition and air power – are now surrounding Ukraine on all sides, but Moscow denies it is planning an invasion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the United States and NATO had not addressed Moscow's main security demands in their standoff over Ukraine, amid fears Russia could invade Ukraine.

Putin offered his first reaction to the U.S. and NATO responses to Russia's demands in a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron after weeks of personal public silence on the crisis, in which Russia has massed troops near Ukraine.

The U.S. rejected a key Moscow demand that Nato rule out Ukraine joining the defence alliance – but insisted it was offering Russia a “diplomatic path”.

U.S. President Joe Biden says Russia could invade next month. German intelligence says Russia is prepared to attack but has not yet decided to do so.

CONFLICT: Russia military build-up around Ukraine (Graphic)
GN42251 Graphic shows Russian troop numbers near Ukraine.
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January 28, 2022 -- A race against time is under way for the U.S. Navy to recover an F-35 fighter jet that fell into the sea – before the Chinese get there first.

The $100m F35C stealth jet sank in the South China Sea on Monday after what the Navy describes as a “landing mishap” on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier.

AVIATION: Race to salvage F-35 jet (Graphic)
GN42250 Graphic shows details of F-35C and Carl Vinson aircraft carrier.
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January 27, 2022 -- Apple is developing a way for small businesses to turn their iPhones into payment terminals – negating the need for third-party hardware.

In what could be a massive shake-up of the credit card payment business, Apple is said to be developing iPhone software that will allow a small business to use the smartphone to accept credit card payments, rendering costly third-party point of sale hardware, such as the market-leading Square Reader, obsolete.

Apple has been working on the new feature since it bought Canadian startup Mobeewave for $100m in 2020. The firm specialised in developing technology for smartphones to accept credit card payments using the devices’ Near Field Communication (NFC) chip/antenna.

Given that modern iPhones contain an NFC system already, it is most likely the new functionality will be included in a future iOS update – possibly iOS 15.4 – and be bundled in as part of existing Apple Pay technology.

There are over 11 billion EMV chip credit cards in circulation worldwide – cards with an embedded smart chip that stores data needed to process a transaction.

EMV security technology was pioneered by Europay, MasterCard and Visa way back in 1994, and has become the standard for payments made with credit, debit, or prepaid smart cards.

TECH: Apple set to shake up credit card payments (Graphic)
GN42247 Graphic shows how Apple’s rumoured new payment system will work.
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January 27, 2022 -- Western countries have stepped up arms deliveries to Ukraine but it says it needs more in order to resist Russia’s bigger and better-equipped army.

The United States, Britain and the Baltic states are sending weapons to Ukraine, including anti-tank missiles, small arms and boats. Turkey has sold drones to Ukraine that the Ukrainian military has used in eastern Ukraine against Russian-backed separatists, according to Reuters.

However, Germany is against sending arms to Ukraine. Berlin has instead promised a complete field hospital and the necessary training for Ukrainian troops to operate it, worth about $6 million, Reuters said.

MILITARY: Western arms supplies to Ukraine (Graphic)
GN42245 Graphic shows Western arms deliveries to Ukraine.
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January 27, 2022 -- The retirement of Stephen Breyer, a liberal member of the U.S. Supreme Court, gives President Joe Biden the opportunity to fulfil his pledge to nominate a Black woman to the country’s top judicial body.

Only two African Americans - both men - have ever served on the court: Justice Thurgood Marshall from 1967 to 1991 and his successor Justice Clarence Thomas, who is set to become the oldest member on the bench at age 73.

A total of 115 justices have served on the Supreme Court in the nation's history, including 17 as chief justice.

Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, a former law clerk to Mr Breyer, is believed to be the top contender for the job.

With conservatives now in full control of the court, replacing Justice Breyer with another liberal would not change its ideological balance or affect its rightward trajectory in cases on abortion, gun rights, religion or affirmative action.

POLITICS: First Black woman to Supreme Court (Graphic)
GN42243 Graphic shows historic firsts and the ideological balance at the U.S. Supreme court
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March 4, 2022 -- A spent SpaceX rocket is on a collision course with the moon, likely the first time a piece of “space junk” will unintentionally strike the lunar surface.

On February 11, 2015. the Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying the Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite on SpaceX’s first deep space mission.

After completing its long burn and sending the satellite on into space, the second stage booster did not have enough fuel to return to Earth and it tumbled around in chaotic orbit for seven years.

According to Bill Gray, who writes the widely used Project Pluto software to track near-Earth objects, asteroids, minor planets, and comets, the booster is expected to impact the far side of moon near equator, at a velocity of around 2.58km/s.

Observation of the subsurface material ejected by the collision could provide valuable scientific data.

SPACE: Rocket to crash into moon (Graphic)
GN42240 Graphic shows details of the strike.
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January 26, 2022 -- An estimated 100,000 Russian troops remain stationed near the border with Ukraine, although Moscow has denied any plans to invade its ex-Soviet neighbour.

The U.S. says Russia has offered no explanation for the troops posted close to Ukraine – and Russian troops and tanks have headed to Belarus for exercises.

Western intelligence suggests a Russian incursion or invasion could happen some time in early 2022, the BBC said.

MILITARY: Russia-Ukraine balance of power (Graphic)
GN42237 Graphic shows a comparison of Russian and Ukrainian military strength.
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January 26, 2022 -- The United States is in talks with liquefied natural gas (LNG)-producing countries to boost LNG exports to Europe if a Russian invasion of Ukraine leads to gas shortages in Europe.

The U.S. State Department confirmed on Tuesday (January 25) that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had called his Qatari counterpart Muhammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani on Monday. Their conversation included a discussion about the Ukraine situation.

Russia exports roughly 23.3 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of natural gas, of which about 16 bcfd or 72 per cent goes to Europe.

The three most prominent producers of LNG in 2021 were Australia at around 10.5 bcfd, Qatar at 10.1 bcfd and the United States at 9.8 bcfd. The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts that U.S. exports will reach 11.5 bcfd, making the U.S. the world’s biggest LNG exporter in 2022.

The United States sent about half of its LNG exports in December to Europe, up from 37% earlier in 2021. Russia usually supplies four billion cubic feet of gas per day to Europe through Ukraine, and Moscow has already cut these supplies by half.

Officials have emphasized that much of the European shortfall could be covered by releasing gas from storage facilities, and the peak period of winter demand for gas will start to wind down in a few weeks as the weather warms up. And significant new LNG supply capacity is set to come online at the Sabine Pass and Calcasieu plants on the U.S. Gulf Coast later this year.

BUSINESS: Europe LNG supplies (Graphic)
GN42242 Graphic shows world’s largest LNG producers.
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January 24, 2022 -- President Biden is considering deploying several thousand U.S. troops, as well as warships and aircraft, to NATO allies in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, amid fears of a Russian incursion into Ukraine.

The Pentagon on Monday ordered 8,500 U.S.-based troops to be put on alert for possible deployment – not to Ukraine but to NATO territory in Eastern Europe as part of an alliance force meant to signal a unified commitment to deter any wider Russian aggression, AP said.

MILITARY: NATO deployments to Eastern Europe (Graphic)
GN42233 Graphic shows NATO deployments in Europe.
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January 25, 2022 -- Most countries have made little to no progress in bringing down corruption levels over the past decade, according to an annual survey by anti-graft watchdog Transparency International.

The report ranks countries on a scale from a “highly corrupt” 0 to a “very clean” 100. Denmark, New Zealand and Finland tied for first place with 88 points each; the first two were unchanged, while Finland gained three points. Somalia (13), Syria (13) and South Sudan (11) remain at the bottom.

Since 2012, 23 countries have significantly declined – including advanced economies such as Australia (73), Canada (74) and the United States (67), the latter dropping out of the top 25 countries on the Index for the first time.

25 countries have significantly improved their scores, including Estonia (74), Seychelles (70) and Armenia (49).

POLITICS: Corruption Perceptions Index 2021 (Graphic)
GN42235 Graphic shows selected data from Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2021.
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January 24, 2022 -- Apple is gearing up for its first product launch event of the year, with a new iPhone SE and iPad anticipated this spring.

Apple is believed to be releasing a slew of new products and updates in 2022, featuring its own M1 and M2 silicone. Here’s what the technology press believe is coming:

SPRING

• iPhone SE – Same form factor but with faster processor and 5G support

• iPad Air – Upgraded to A15 chip

• iMac Pro – Larger 27-inch variant of 2021 iMac

• Mac mini – High-end update with more ports and power

SUMMER

• iPad Pro – Possible glass backplate for wireless charging

• MacBook Air – Thinner (wedge shape is gone), lighter, faster

• Mac Pro – New smaller chassis with up to 32-cores

• Apple Display – Updated Pro Display and lower-cost option

***

• Worldwide Developers Conference (June) – Software reveals (iOS 16, iPadOS 16, tvOS 16, watchOS 9, macOS 13)

***

AUTUMN

• iPhone 14 – Hole punch design to replace notch in Pro models and A16 chip

• Apple Watch Series 8 – New temperature sensor and sleep apnea detection, among others

• AirPods Pro – More compact design eliminates stem

• AR/VR headset – Augmented/virtual reality headset rumoured to arrive in 2022 if Apple can overcome some development issues

TECH: Apple products expected to debut in 2022 (Graphic)
GN42231 Graphic plots likely release windows for Apple’s rumoured 2022 product line-up.
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January 24, 2022 -- The volcanic eruption in Tonga was hundreds of times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb, NASA says.

Tonga’s eruption unleashed explosive forces equivalent to up to 30 million tonnes of TNT – hundreds of times more than Hiroshima's atomic bomb, NASA says.

As a comparison, the U.S. atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945 was estimated to be about 15 kilotons (15,000 tonnes) of TNT.

Mount St. Helens exploded in 1980 with 24 megatons and Krakatoa burst in 1883 with 200 megatons of energy.

Before the eruption, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic island was two separate islands joined by new land formed in 2015.

Nasa says the eruption was so powerful all the new land is gone, along with "large chunks" of the two older islands.

Tonga says more than four-fifths of the population has been affected by the tsunami and falling ash. Three people were confirmed killed in the tsunami last week.

SCIENCE: Tonga more powerful than Hiroshima (Graphic)
GN42232 Graphic shows the shape of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai island before and after the Jan 15 eruption, and a comparison between the Hiroshima bomb and powerful volcanic eruptions.
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January 24, 2022 -- China’s air force flew 39 warplanes into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on January 23, the largest daily number since record-breaking incursions in October, while establishing a constant naval presence close to southern Japan and eastern Taiwan. This marked expansion of Beijing’s sea power has focused attention on the area as a potential future battleground.

Thirty-four fighter jets, four electronic warfare aircraft and a bomber from the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) are reported to have flown in an area to the northeast of the Pratas Islands.

The Taiwan Air Force scrambled combat aircraft and issued radio warnings, activating its air defence missile systems. Taiwan describes these activities as “grey zone” warfare, designed to both wear out Taiwan’s forces by making them repeatedly scramble, and also to test Taiwan’s responses.

This is the largest incursion since Taiwan reported 148 PLAAF planes in the southern and southwestern part of the ADIZ over four days starting October 1, coinciding with China’s National Day, a major patriotic holiday. Tensions could continue to rise in 2022, with key political events looming including Chinese President Xi Jinping facing the Party Congress where he is expected to secure a third term in power, and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen going into elections which are likely to be a litmus test for the next presidential race.

MILITARY: China expands air and sea presence (Graphic)
GN42230 Graphic shows air incursions since January 2021.
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January 24, 2022 -- The President of Burkina Faso, Roch Kaboré, has reportedly been detained by mutinying soldiers demanding the sacking of military chiefs and more resources to fight Islamist militants.

Gunfire had been heard overnight near the presidential palace and at barracks in Ouagadougou, the capital. Troops surrounded the state television headquarters on Monday.

The president’s location is unknown, but the AFP news agency quoted security sources saying that he and other government ministers are at the Sangoulé Lamizana barracks in the capital.

Islamist militants control swathes of the country and have forced residents in some areas to abide by their harsh version of Islamic law.

Protestors took to the streets of Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou on Saturday (January 22), calling for President Kaboré to resign and protesting against the government’s inability to stop almost daily armed attacks across the country.

MILITARY: Burkina Faso coup fear (Graphic)
GN42234 Graphic shows militant groups in and around Burkina Faso.
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February 1-28, 2022 -- Each month Graphic News publishes a World Agenda of forthcoming events that will shape the world in the month ahead. Events in February include the Beijing Winter Olympics, military exercises between Belarus and Russia that are unnerving the West, elections in five Indian states, the Lunar New Year, and Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.

Feb 1, Asia: An estimated two billion people – in Asia and beyond – celebrate the Lunar New Year. 2022 represents the Year of the Tiger, an animal that symbolizes strength, power and prosperity in the Chinese zodiac.

Feb 4-20, China: Beijing hosts the Winter Olympics, becoming the first city to stage both the Summer and Winter Games. The sporting event is overshadowed by a diplomatic boycott over China’s human rights record, and the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

Feb 6, UK: Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first British Monarch to observe a Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne.

Feb 10, India: Over 180 million voters in five states go to the polls in a closely watched electoral battle that will be crucial in gauging the popularity of Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of general elections in 2024.

Feb 10-20, Belarus: Joint military exercises between Russia and Belarus near the border with Ukraine are increasing fears in the West that Moscow is preparing for an invasion. Russia denies such plans.

Feb 17, France: At the sixth summit between the European and African Unions, EU leaders aim to present a global license deal that would allow African countries to manufacture their own coronavirus vaccines.

Feb 26, U.S.: George Zimmerman, a white Hispanic man, shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin during a scuffle in Florida 10 years ago. He was not arrested, and his acquittal one year later spawned the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

Feb 28, Egypt: The African nation celebrates a century of independence. The Kingdom of Egypt was established when Britain’s protectorate over Egypt, set up in 1882, came to a close.

WORLD AGENDA: February 2022 (Graphic)
GN42229 Graphic shows news events in February 2022.
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February 6-12, 2022 -- Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries for each day of the week. This week features the reign of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Tomy Brady and Super Bowl, botanist Gregor Mendel, Singer-songwriter Carole King, democracy in Turkmenistan, skating at the 2002 Olympics and the Republic of North Macedonia

February 6, 1952: Elizabeth II became Queen of the United Kingdom and six other nations. She cut short a visit to Kenya to fly home on the death of her father, King George VI

February 7, 2021: Veteran quarterback Tom Brady won a record-extending seventh Super Bowl as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers secured victory over the Kansas City Chiefs

February 8, 1865: Gregor Mendel, botanist and monk who pioneered the laws of genetics, read his first scientific paper describing his studies of pea plants

February 9, 1942: Singer-songwriter Carole King was born in New York. She and ex-husband Gerry Goffin wrote many hits, including Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

February 10, 2007: Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov (above) won Turkmenistan’s first democratic presidential election, to succeed the late totalitarian leader Saparmurat Niyazov

February 11, 2002: Uproar broke out after a judge at the Olympics placed Russian skaters first, although a Canadian pair performed better. Eventually two gold medals were awarded

February 12, 2019: The Republic of Macedonia formally changed its name to the Republic of North Macedonia, ending a 27-year naming dispute with Greece

HISTORY: On this day February 06-12, 2022 (week 06) (Graphic)
GN42205 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
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January 30 - February 5, 2022 -- Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries for each day of the week. This week features the response of the WHO to the coronavirus outbreak, the exit of the UK from the European Union, Myanmar’s military government, the wedding of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, the sale of Tulip’s in the Netherlands, dancing at the Folies Bergère in Paris, and the New Hermitage Museum in Russia

January 30, 2020: The WHO declared China’s coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency following confirmation of human-to-human transmission in other countries

January 31, 2020: The UK formally left the European Union. The bitterly divisive Brexit process was set in motion by a 2016 referendum in which 52% voted to leave the EU

February 1, 2021: Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup after detaining civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and other senior figures

February 2, 2002: Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands married Argentinian Maxima Zorreguieta. They became king and queen after Queen Beatrix abdicated in 2013

February 3, 1637: Tulip mania collapsed in the Netherlands after soaring prices decimated sales. It is regarded as the first recorded speculative economic bubble

February 4, 1927: Popular U.S.-born nightclub dancer Josephine Baker caused a sensation when performing at the Folies Bergère in Paris, dressed only in a bunch of bananas

February 5, 1852: The New Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, founded by Catherine the Great in 1764 and one of the largest museums in the world, opened to the public

HISTORY: On this day January 30-February 05, 2022 (week 05) (Graphic)
GN42204 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
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January 21, 2022 -- The U.S. government has given the go-ahead for the Baltic States to send U.S.-made missiles and other weapons to Ukraine. The move comes as President Joe Biden predicted Russia would “move in” on Ukraine.

The third-party transfer agreements will allow Estonia to transfer Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, while Lithuania will be permitted to send Stinger missiles, Reuters said.

Separately, the UK has supplied a batch of NLAW (Next-Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapons) to Ukraine, according to Janes.

More than 100,000 Russian troops with tanks and artillery have massed on Ukraine’s border in recent weeks, leading to fears of an invasion.

MILITARY: Weapon shipments to Ukraine (Graphic)
GN42226 Graphic shows handheld missile systems that could be used by Ukraine.
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January 20, 2022 -- The Doomsday Clock, which indicates how near our planet is to annihilation, stands at 100 seconds to midnight – the closest it has ever been – for the third year in a row.

With war looming between Russia and Ukraine, ongoing climate disaster and the coronavirus pandemic, the panel decided to keep the minute hand at its most dangerous position since the concept began in 1947.

Each year, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a nonprofit group that sets the clock, decides whether the events of the previous year pushed humanity closer to or farther from destruction.

The idea began in 1945, when scientists working on the Manhattan Project – developing the world’s first nuclear weapons – created the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists of Chicago (BAS) to warn humanity of the dangers of nuclear war. Two years later, BAS launched its Doomsday Clock.

SCIENCE: Doomsday Clock 2022 (Graphic)
GN42219 Graphic shows ups and downs of the Doomsday Clock since 1947.
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January 20, 2022 -- A 19-year-old British/Belgian girl has become the youngest woman to fly solo around the world, and the youngest person to undertake the 52,080.3km, 200-hour voyage in a microlight plane.

Zara Rutherford flew clockwise around the world, crossing 41 countries and five continents, making two crossings of the Equator, to take in Colombia and Indonesia. The low weight of her Shark UL microlight plane means it only required around 2,500 litres of fuel for the entire journey, less than a typical passenger jet uses in 10 minutes.

Despite flying from a young age and coming from a family of aviators, Rutherford only obtained her full flying license a year before she took off.

AVIATION: Young woman completes solo microlight circumnavigation (4) (Graphic UPDATED Jan 20)
GN41626 Graphic shows the flight path of Zara Rutherford on her journey around the world, with details of the ultralight Shark UL plane.
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January 20, 2022 -- Airlines have warned that new U.S. C-Band 5G services could interfere with aircraft instruments such as radio altimeters, which display the height between the runway and wheels when landing.

5G is the fifth generation of cellular networks -- up to 100 times faster than 4G. The European Union set its mid-range 5G frequencies in a 3.4-3.8GHz range, a lower frequency than the so-called C-Band in the U.S., defined as between 3.7-4.2GHz.

Last year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorised nearly all of the C-Band spectrum to AT&T and Verizon in an $80 billion auction.

For pilots landing, particularly in the latter stages of an approach in low visibility, knowing the aircraft’s height above the ground is vital. The radio altimeter or Rad Alt provides this data.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has raised concerns that many automated safety systems rely on Rad Alt data whose accuracy may be affected. These systems -- including terrain and ground proximity warning systems, collision avoidance, flight surface control, autothrottle and thrust reversers -- are crucial for making landings in poor visibility and for aircraft flying at low altitudes.

The FCC activation of C-band frequencies near U.S. airports on Wednesday (January 19) has resulted in airlines cancelling flights due to 5G safety concerns. British Airways Boeing 777s are particularly at risk of being affected, and the airline cancelled several flights from Heathrow to Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.

Dubai-based Emirates suspended all its flights to nine U.S. airports on Wednesday, while other airlines to cancel flights include Air India, Japan-based ANA, Japan Airlines and Korean Air.

AVIATION: 5G aviation safety (Graphic)
GN42221 Graphic shows how 5G could affect radio altimeters.
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January 20, 2022 -- More than 1m people around the world die each year from infections caused by bacteria resistant to antibiotics, making antimicrobial resistance (AMR) a leading cause of death.

A new study published in the Lancet medical journal calculates that 1.27m deaths in 2019 were the direct result of drug resistant bacterial infections and 4.95m deaths were associated with them.
In the same year, Aids (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is thought to have caused 860,000 deaths and malaria 640,000.

The new Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance report is based on an analysis of 204 countries by a team of international researchers, led by the University of Washington, U.S.

Most of the deaths from AMR were caused by lower respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, and bloodstream infections, which can lead to sepsis.

Regionally, deaths caused directly by AMR were estimated to be highest in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia, at 24 deaths per 100,000 population.

HEALTH: Antimicrobial resistance kills millions (Graphic)
GN42222 Graphic charts the leading cause of deaths by disease in 2019 and the regional incidence of AMR.
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January 19, 2022 -- Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia in Geneva on Friday as the U.S. warns that Russia could soon invade neighbouring Ukraine.

Russia on Tuesday began moving troops and equipment to Belarus for joint military exercises, adding to concerns in the west over a possible plan by Moscow to attack Ukraine.

The exercises, known as Allied Resolve 2022, coincide with a recent buildup of Russian forces on Ukraine’s eastern border.

MILITARY: Russian presence in Belarus (Graphic)
GN42220 Graphic shows Russian forces reportedly involved in joint military exercises with Belarus.
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January 19, 2022 -- As President Joe Biden nears the one-year mark of his presidency, Americans are growing frustrated with his handling of the pandemic and the economy. The daily poll of polls from Five Thirty Eight shows that 42.3 per cent of likely U.S. voters approve of President Biden’s job performance, while 52.4 per cent disapprove.

Biden’s approval rating was constantly in the 50s until August. It flipped from positive to negative with the Taliban victory in Afghanistan and disorderly withdrawal of U.S. troops.

In the 2020 presidential election, Biden won more votes than any presidential candidate in U.S. history -- 81 million compared with Barack Obama’s previous record of 69.5 million in 2008. Yet, just 12 months into his term, he is one of the country’s most unpopular presidents.

The U.S. economy ended 2021 in solid shape, with GDP growth of 7.6 per cent in the final quarter of the year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The jobless rate, 6.3 per cent when Biden took office, was just 3.9 per cent in December, with around six million jobs added since Biden took office. Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. lost three million jobs.

Biden’s troubles started with his botched Afghanistan withdrawal and the deaths of 13 U.S. service members at Kabul airport.

Faced with a surge of the Delta and Omicron variants of coronavirus, Biden concedes that eradicating the virus is unlikely.

And finally, on January 13, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the president’s rule requiring workers at large companies to be vaccinated or masked and tested weekly.

POLITICS: President Biden’s approval rating (Graphic)
GN42217 Graphic shows events that have influenced President Joe Biden’s approval during his first year in office.
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January 18, 2022 -- Russian president Vladimir Putin continues to threaten a potential invasion of Ukraine with a major military buildup near the Russian-Ukrainian border, including tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery and short-range ballistic missiles.

Moscow has denied that it’s planning an invasion. But it has issued NATO with a list of security demands. Blaming the alliance for “undermining regional security”, Putin insists, among other things, that NATO bans Ukraine and other former Soviet states from ever becoming members of the organisation, according to the BBC.

NATO flatly refused and the three summits held over the last week or so, between Russia and Western allies, have failed to find much common ground.

What Putin plans to do next is unclear. But the West believes the Kremlin has invested too much in its very public manoeuvres over Ukraine to back down now, without something to show for it, the BBC said.

MILITARY: Potential Russian invasion plans for Ukraine (Graphic)
GN42216 Graphic shows potential Russian military options for invading Ukraine.
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January 19, 2022 -- President Biden meets the press for just his second solo White House news conference as he begins his second full year in office. At the end of his first year, Joe Biden has held fewer news conferences than his five predecessors at the same point in their presidencies.

Biden has given only nine formal press conferences – six solo and three jointly with visiting foreign leaders, according to Towson University and the White House Transition Project. He has participated in 22 media interviews.

President Joe Biden’s approach to U.S. media is a stark contrast to Donald Trump’s vicious rhetoric. However, White House reporters and media watchdogs have been increasingly critical about access to Biden, pointing to his lack of formal press conferences and sit-down interviews with media outlets.

Former President Donald Trump, who regularly pilloried the media, did 92 interviews in his first year in office, more than two dozen of those with friendly interlocutors at Fox News. But Trump also held lengthy sessions with ABC News, The Associated Press, the New York Times, Reuters and other outlets whose coverage he impugned throughout his presidency.

The White House typically defends access to Biden by pointing to the dozens of times he takes questions after scripted events and when departing the White House when travelling. But those exchanges are typically brief and do not allow for follow-up questions.

POLITICS: Presidential news conferences (Graphic)
GN42215 Graphic shows number of press conferences, press interviews and informal Q&A by the last six U.S. presidents.
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January 18, 2022 -- The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Pyongyang fired two tactical guided missiles on Monday, the fourth missile test this month.

“North Korea is trying to lay a trap for the Biden administration. It has queued up missiles that it wants to test anyway and is responding to U.S. pressure with additional provocations in an effort to extort concessions,” said Leif-Eric Easley, an associate professor at Ewha University in Seoul.

After agreeing in 2018 to work toward “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has made his nuclear-equipped arsenal bigger, deadlier and capable of striking the U.S. mainland.

The Hwasong-14 became North Korea’s first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) when Kim successfully tested it in July 2017. The rocket could travel up to 10,000km depending on payload, placing Australia, Europe, Canada and the United States within range.

Four months later, Kim tested a second ICBM known as the Hwasong-15. This missile could deliver multiple nuclear warheads payload that could overwhelm U.S. defences or a single, high-yield weapon.

KCNA has also reported that Kim conducted a second successful test of a new hypersonic vehicle on January 5. North Korea’s first hypersonic missile test, capable of carrying a warhead that can glide at more than five times the speed of sound, occurred in September 2021, aboard a Hwasong 8 booster.

North Korea said the Hwasong 8 used a “missile fuel ampoule” system. The liquid fuel and oxidizer tanks are pre-filled at the factory.

North Korea’s BM-25 Musudan (Hwasong-10) intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), Hwasong-12 IRBM and Hwasong-14 and -15 ICBMs also use ampoule systems.

The latest launches have drawn condemnation from the Biden administration, which has imposed new sanctions over North Korean missile launches and is pushing for more.

MILITARY: North Korea’s ballistic missiles (Graphic)
GN42214 Graphic shows ranges on Kim Jong-un’s ballistic missiles.
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January 17, 2022 -- Australia and New Zealand sent surveillance flights on Monday to assess damage in Tonga, isolated from the rest of the world after the eruption of a volcano that triggered a tsunami and blanketed the Pacific island with ash.

The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano caused a tsunami on the shores of Tonga and cut off phone and internet lines for the entire island, Reuters said.

TONGA: Volcano eruption (Graphic)
GN42208 Graphic shows location of Tonga volcano.
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January 17, 2022 -- China’s birth rate dropped to a record low in 2021 despite government efforts to encourage families to have more children.

There were 10.62 million babies born in China last year, down from 12 million in 2020, according to data released by the National Statistics Bureau on Monday. That’s the fewest number of births since at least 1950, according to calculations based on official data.

The birth rate, or the number of newborns per 1,000 people, dropped to 7.52 last year, the lowest level since at least 1978.

The high cost of living, delayed marriages and lack of social mobility are frequently cited as contributing factors to young Chinese people’s reluctance to have children.

China, like much of east Asia, is in the grip of a population crisis, with lowering birthrates, and predictions of imminent negative population growth and an ageing population.

POPULATION: China’s birth rate drops to record low (Graphic)
GN42207 Graphic shows number of births by year and falling Chinese fertility rate.
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January 17, 2022 -- Naftali Bennett’s eight-party coalition includes the far left, centrists, his own right-wing Yamina party, and for the first time in the Jewish state’s history, an Arab Islamic party, United Arab List.

Currently, a government-sponsored tree-planting project by the Jewish National Fund in southern Israel’s Negev has split the seven-month-old coalition. It depicts an ongoing conflict between Bedouin Arabs, who claim property rights in the Negev desert where they lived as semi-nomadic tribes before the founding of Israel in 1948, and the government, which maintains that the majority of the area is state-owned.

An estimated 200,000-230,000 Bedouins live in unrecognized villages in the triangle between Beersheba, Arad, and Dimona in the Negev. They mostly have no connection to electricity, running water, or other utilities. Unemployment and poverty are much higher in the region than in the rest of Israel.

There is only one party in the Israeli coalition that stands with the residents of the Negev -- the United Arab List (UAL), whose constituents are predominantly Bedouin Arabs.

Since last Wednesday (January 12), UAL leader Mansour Abbas has boycotted coalition votes in the Knesset over Israel’s primary forest management agent’s tree-planting initiative, saying trees are not more important than people.”

Bennett’s coalition needs UAL’s four votes to retain its single-member majority of 61 in the 120-seat Knesset.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, the founder of centrist Yesh Atid (There is a Future), has also urged a halt to the contested forestation. “The Bedouin problem has been forsaken,” Lapid said in a statement. Yesh Atid is the second-largest party in the coalition, with 17 seats.

POLITICS: Israel’s fragile coalition (Graphic)
GN42206 Graphic shows potential rifts in Israel’s coalition.
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January 17, 2022 -- Novak Djokovic has left Australia after judges upheld the government's cancellation of his visa and his deportation. Djokovic has blamed his agent for an incorrect declaration prior to arriving for the Australian Open.

The world number one tennis player sought a medical exemption from Australia's strict Covid visa rules after claiming to have contracted the infection in December. However, the Australian Border Force detained him on January 5 for not meeting federal coronavirus requirements, and his visa was revoked.

Judges rejected a challenge by the unvaccinated tennis star after the government cancelled his visa on "health and good order" grounds.


TENNIS: Novak Djokovic Australian visa row timeline (2) (Graphic UPDATED Jan 17)
GN42194 Graphic shows timeline of events leading up to Novak Djokovic’s entry into Australia.
(107mm wide by 128mm deep (print) and 2-screen responsive graphic (digital))

January 14, 2022 -- North Korea launched at least seven attacks on cryptocurrency platforms that extracted nearly $400 million worth of digital assets in 2021, one of its most successful years on record.

“From 2020 to 2021, the number of North Korean-linked hacks jumped from four to seven, and the value extracted from these hacks grew by 40%,” Chainalysis said in a report.

The hackers used a number of techniques, including phishing lures, code exploits and malware to siphon funds from the organisations' “hot” wallets and then moved them into North Korea-controlled addresses, the company said.

Chainalysis said it is likely that many of last year's attacks were conducted by the so-called Lazarus Group, a hacking group which the U.S. has applied sanctions against.

The Lazarus Group has previously been accused of involvement in the 2016 theft of $81 million from Bangladesh Bank via the SWIFT network; the 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack; and “numerous other attacks or intrusions on the entertainment, financial services, defense, technology and virtual currency industries, as well as academia and electric utilities.”

CRIME: N. Korean hackers stole $400m in 2021 (Graphic)
GN42203 Graphic shows North Korean-linked hacks by value since 2017 and key attacks by the Lazarus Group.
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February 4-20, 2022 -- Beijing is going to great lengths to make sure Covid-19 does not impact the Winter Olympics. Athletes, media and observers, who must be fully vaccinated, will stay in three distinct bubbles, and foreign spectators are barred.

The measures against Covid-19 are expected to go far beyond those taken at the Tokyo Games in 2021. They include all-day armpit thermometers, with tiny transmitters to sound the alarm should someone develop a fever. Guards in biohazard suits, will be ready to stop anyone from leaving.

BEIJING 2022: Covid-19 measures at the Winter Olympics (Graphic)
GN42199 Graphic shows details of China’s measures against Covid-19 at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
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January 14, 2022 -- The orbital test flight of SpaceX’s Starship will see Serial Number 20 (SN20) fly atop a giant Booster 4 launcher. Booster 4 will splash down in the Gulf of Mexico while SN20 orbits Earth.

SN20 and its first stage booster are set for an orbital launch as soon as March from SpaceX’s testing facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The landmark liftoff is awaiting a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration environmental review of the Starbase facility.

The fully reusable Starship system will send people and cargo to the moon, Mars and other distant planets. Starship prototypes have flown before, but only reaching maximum altitudes of around 10 kilometres. Those previous launches involved Starship vehicles with no more than three Raptor rocket engines, and none of them lifted off atop a Super Heavy booster.

Booster 4’s 29 massive Raptor engines will fire for 169 seconds before releasing Starship to fly powered by six engines -- three sea-level engines for atmospheric flight and three large vacuum-optimized Raptors for high performance in space.

Starship will soar into orbit and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, 100km northwest of the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says a key goal is to ensure that the Starship rockets are reusable, and future tests will see both stages return to the launch pad rather than splashdown in the ocean. Musk says SpaceX could launch a Starship to the moon “probably sooner” than 2024.

SPACE: SpaceX Starship orbital test flight (Graphic)
GN42200 Graphic shows the SpaceX Starship system.
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January 13, 2022 -- Australia has equalled its hottest day on record after the Western coastal town of Onslow saw the mercury soar to 50.7°C.

The previous hottest day in Australian history was in Jan 2, 1960, when temperatures in Oodnadatta Airport in South Australia also hit 50.7.

In Roebourne and Mardie, temperatures hit 50.5 degrees about midday, both tied with the the second-hottest day in Australian records.

The record-breaking heat comes just days after a report from the EU's satellite system confirmed that the past seven years have been the hottest on record.

Heatwaves are becoming more likely and more extreme because of human-induced climate change.

CLIMATE: Australia equals hottest day on record (Graphic)
GN42198 Graphic shows map identifying the severity of the heatwave and the location of the hotspots.
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January 12, 2022 -- Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has said that associates of his predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev needed to share their wealth with the public to help alleviate discontent after a week of violent unrest.

Nazarbayev, 81, was the longest-serving leader of any former Soviet state, running Kazakhstan between 1989 and 2019, first as Communist Party boss and then as president, Reuters said.

Several members of his family and former associates are among Kazakhstan's richest people, according to Forbes magazine.

KAZAKHSTAN: Nazarbayev family wealth (Graphic)
GN42195 Graphic shows wealth of Nazarbayev’s family and associates.
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January 12, 2022 -- Boeing’s deliveries of new planes surged in 2021 but the company still ended the year behind chief rival Airbus, which remained the world’s largest jetmaker for the third year running.

Boeing handed 340 jetliners to airlines and other buyers, up from 157 in 2020, as customers looked beyond the Covid pandemic’s toll on travel demand.

The deliveries were led largely by the 737 Max, which regulators worldwide had grounded for nearly two years after a fatal crash in 2018 and another in 2019.

The increase in deliveries was welcome news for Boeing, which has struggled in the wake of the crashes, the pandemic and manufacturing issues that have paused handovers to customers of its 787 Dreamliners for much of the past 14 months.

But chief rival Airbus delivered 611 planes last year, up 8% from 2020.

The Airbus deliveries were driven by demand for its popular A320 family of single-aisle jets.

AVIATION: Boeing, Airbus deliveries in 2021 (Graphic)
GN42193 Graphic shows Boeing and Airbus deliveries since 2015.
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February 6, 2022 -- Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first British sovereign to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee -- 70 years of service -- having acceded to the throne on February 6, 1952.

The official emblem for The Queen's Platinum Jubilee in 2022 was designed by 19-year-old graphic design student Edward Roberts.

According to the Royal Family website, the emblem features a purple and platinum design.

The stylised St Edward’s Crown, incorporating the number 70, is on a round purple background associated with royalty and signifying a royal seal.

The elegant font Perpetua, meaning forever, is an acknowledgement to the first British Monarch ever to mark 70 years on the throne.

ROYALTY: Queen Platinum Jubilee emblem (Illustration)
GN42192 Graphic shows the emblem for the Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.
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January 11, 2022 -- Boris Johnson is facing fresh scrutiny after Britain’s ITV News claimed a party took place in the garden of 10 Downing Street, breaking strict Covid lockdown rules in place at the time.

A new scandal is brewing during Boris Johnson tempestuous premiership, which threatens to blow up in his face if he doesn’t handle it with care.

According to ITV News, on May 20, 2020, at a time when Covid lockdown rules forbid outside gatherings from different households by more than two people, Martin Reynolds, the Prime Minister’s Principal Private Secretary, invited 100 people by email to attend a garden party at 10 Downing Street.

In the leaked email, Reynolds writes:
“Hi all, after what has been an incredibly busy period we thought it would be nice to make the most of the lovely weather and have some socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden this evening. Please join us from 6pm and bring your own booze!”

ITV says that around 40 people accepted the invitation, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie Johnson.

Johnson is still reeling from a photograph published by The Guardian newspaper in December that showed him, his wife and at least 17 staff having drinks in No.10’s garden on May 15 – just 5 days before the latest alleged party took place.

Johnson is declining to comment, despite opposition parties and bereaved families demanding he comes clean.

POLITICS: 10 Downing Street “Partygate” scandal (Graphic)
GN42189 Graphic shows the garden at 10 Downing Street where an alleged garden party took place during a national Covid lockdown.
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January 11, 2022 -- The United Nations has launched its largest ever single-country funding appeal, saying it needs more than $5 billion in aid for Afghanistan to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in 2022.

The UN said 22 million people inside Afghanistan and a further 5.7 million displaced Afghans in five neighbouring countries needed vital relief this year.

The UN appeal launched on Tuesday aims to shore up basic services, ensuring health workers and others are paid directly without funds going to the Taliban, Reuters said.

AFGHANISTAN: Record UN aid appeal (Graphic)
GN42190 Graphic shows funding requirements and facts about Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis.
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February 6, 2022 -- Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first British sovereign to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee -- 70 years of service -- having acceded to the throne on February 6, 1952.

ROYALTY: Queen Platinum Jubilee banner (Photomontage)
GN42191 Photomontage shows an evocative image of the Queen's 70 years on the throne. Visual shows both versions of the banner plus an enlargement of the central area.
(340mm wide by 62mm deep and 400mm wide by 120mm deep @ 300 pixels/inch) View graphic

February 6, 2022 -- Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first British sovereign to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee -- 70 years of service -- having acceded to the throne on February 6, 1952.

The Queen’s long reign means that she has three living direct heirs, her son, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales; her grandson Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge; and her great grandson, Prince George of Cambridge.

Following George in the order of succession are his younger sister and brother, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis of Cambridge, then William’s brother Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and his children, Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor.

Lilibet’s birth in June 2021 moved the Queen’s second son, Prince Andrew, who was born second in line in 1960, down to ninth place.

ROYALTY: British line of succession (4) (Graphic UPDATED Jan 11)
GN39004 Graphic shows line of succession to the British throne.
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January 11, 2022 -- Surgeons in the U.S. have transplanted the heart of a genetically modified pig into a human, marking a step in the decades-long quest in using animal organs for life-saving transplants.

A Maryland man has become the first to receive a successful pig-to-human heart transplant. David Bennett, 57, is “still doing well” three days after the first-of-its-kind surgery and will continue to be monitored to determine whether the transplant, conducted at the University of Maryland, provides life-saving benefits, the university said in a statement.

The surgery took nine hours and saw doctors replace Bennett’s heart with one from a pig that had its genes edited specifically to provide organs to humans.

The pig, provided by Blacksburg, Virginia, company Revivicor, which raises pigs for transplant, was genetically modified in 10 different spots before birth.

One of the key reasons the human immune system rejects pig organs lies in genes responsible for producing an enzyme called alpha-1,3-galactosyltransferase (alpha-gal).

Since normal pig tissue contains active alpha-gal enzymes, antibodies in the human immune system interpret the transplanted tissue as a threat and cause an aggressive human rejection response.

Porcine DNA is genetically modified to eliminate the alpha-gal molecule from the embryos of cloned pigs. Six human genes are added to the pig DNA to prevent blood from coagulating in the heart, improve molecular compatibility and reduce the risk of rejection. Finally, scientists knock out two other genes -- one to stop the animal from growing too large and another to prevent the pig’s heart from continuing to grow after implantation.

The one-year-old pig that gave its heart to Bennett weighed about 109 kilograms; a standard male pig of the same age might weigh more than 200kg, said David Ayares, Revivicor’s executive vice president and chief scientific officer.

HEALTH: Pig heart transplant (Graphic)
GN42188 Graphic shows steps in genetic modification of animals and timeline of xenotransplantation.
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February 6, 2022 -- Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first British sovereign to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee -- 70 years of service -- having acceded to the throne on February 6, 1952. She is currently the world’s longest reigning monarch.

Elizabeth is also Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and 11 other Commonwealth Realms.

Second on the list of the world’s longest reigning monarchs is Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, who has reigned for 54 years.

Queen Margrethe of Denmark, who is currently third on the list, also celebrates a notable jubilee this year, having come to the throne 50 years ago, on January 14, 1972.

Queen Elizabeth still has some way to go to achieve the longest ever verified reign. Louis XIV was King of France for 72 years and 110 days between 1643 and 1715.

ROYALTY: World’s longest reigning monarchs (Graphic)
GN42180 Graphic shows 10 longest-reigning living monarchs.
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January 10, 2022 -- The past seven years have been the hottest on record, according to new data from the European climate agency Copernicus.

Global levels of CO2 and methane, the main greenhouse gases, continued to climb, and both hit record highs in 2021.

Levels of CO2 in the atmosphere reached 414.3 parts per million in 2021, up by around 2.4ppm from 2020.

Scientists remarked that methane levels in the atmosphere increased to reach an unprecedented approximately 1,876 parts per billion.

Europe experienced its hottest summer on record in 2021, after a warm March and unusually cold April had decimated fruit crops in countries including France and Hungary.

In July and August, a Mediterranean heatwave stoked intense wildfires in countries including Turkey and Greece. Sicily set a new European temperature high of 48.8C.

Governments are committed to limiting global temperature rise to 1.5C to curb climate change. But scientists warn that time is fast running out.

CLIMATE: 2021 was fifth warmest year on record (Graphic)
GN42187 Graphic shows annual global-average temperature increase above pre-industrial level, from 1970 to 2021.
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January 10, 2022 -- This year’s awards season got off to a muted start on Sunday night, with the 79th Golden Globe Awards ceremony unlike any before.

Nonetheless, the winners for 2022 include Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story and the Western film The Power Of The Dog leading the way in the cinema categories with three wins each.

Kate Winslet, Andrew Garfield and Sir Kenneth Branagh were the British stars recognised for their work in the past year.

After NBC bowed out as the broadcaster for this year’s event over controversy and boycotts relating to a lack of diversity at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the ceremony on Sunday was decidedly low-key.

There were no celebrity guests, with the show attended by “select HFPA members and grantees.”

HFPA’s troubles began last February when The Los Angeles Times uncovered infighting, possible financial missteps, questionable journalistic ethics and a jarring lack of diversity in the organisation’s ranks. The paper found that not a single one of HFPA’s 80-plus voting members were Black.

The New York Times followed with an examination of the group’s finances. The tax-exempt nonprofit reported that it had paid more than $3 million in salaries and other compensation to its members and staff.

MOVIES: Golden Globes winners 2022 (Graphic)
GN42181 Graphic shows winners of the 2022 Golden Globes.
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January 23-29, 2022 -- Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries for each day of the week. This week features the Wuhan coronavirus, Eskimo Pie, the addition of fluoride to drinking water, basketball legend Kobe Bryant, the first electric light bulbs, U.S. actress Cicely Tyson, and the Sydney Opera House.

January 23, 2020: Wuhan and other Chinese cities were placed under quarantine as a new strain of coronavirus spread widely. More than 80 people had died as infections soared

January 25, 1945: The U.S. city of Grand Rapids became the first in the world to add fluoride, a mineral found in rocks and soil, to its drinking water to reduce tooth decay

January 26, 2020: Basketball legend Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash with his 13-year-old daughter and seven others. The LA Lakers star, 41, was a five-time NBA champion

January 27, 1880: Thomas Edison patented his electric incandescent lamp, the first practical electric light bulb. Prior to Edison’s invention light bulbs lasted only a few hours

January 28, 2021: Pioneering U.S. actress Cicely Tyson, who portrayed strong African-American characters over a distinguished seven-decade career, died aged 96

January 29, 1957: Danish architect Joern Utzon won a competition to design the Sydney Opera House. The striking roof line resembles gleaming sails above the waters of the harbour

HISTORY: On this day January 23-29, 2022 (week 04) (Graphic)
GN42160 Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries on each day for the week.
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January 7, 2022 -- The head of Israeli military intelligence, Major General Aharon Haliva, told ministers during a Cabinet meeting on Sunday (January 2) that Israel would be better off if the Iran nuclear talks in Vienna led to a deal, rather than collapsing without one.

Before the Iranian Revolution -- and the rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini -- Israel was an enthusiastic military partner with Iran. At the time, Iran was the only Middle Eastern country that recognized Israel’s right to exist.

In 1977, an Israeli-Iranian project code-named “Operation Flower” was one of several oil-for-arms contracts signed in Tehran by the Shah and Shimon Peres, then the Israeli Defence Minister. Operation Flower was a joint Israeli-Iranian effort to develop an intermediate-range, surface-to-surface missile. In addition, the deal offered a guaranteed oil supply to Israel.

In July 2015, Iran agreed to a long-term deal on its nuclear programme with the U.S., UK, France, China, Russia and Germany. Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran agreed to limit nuclear activities and allow international inspectors in return for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions. The JCPOA was President Barack Obama’s top foreign policy priority.

In May 2018, President Donald Trump quit the deal, reinstating U.S. sanctions on Iran. Iran’s economy plummets into recession, with gross domestic product plunging from $445bn in 2017 to $250bn last year.

After winning the November 2020 U.S. presidential election, President-elect Joe Biden pledges to rejoin the nuclear deal so long as Iran also comes back into compliance. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani responds, saying Iran can restore the agreement. “We’ll be back where we were,” he states.

Now that Israel’s Operations Directorate supports a potential deal, Haliva’s comments suggest backing from a regional power previously opposed to the JCPOA deal.

MILITARY: Israel could back Iran nuclear deal (Graphic)
GN42178 Graphic shows events since the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
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January 6, 2022 -- North Korea has fired a “hypersonic gliding warhead” that detached from its rocket booster and manoeuvred 120km laterally before it “precisely hit” a target 700km away, according to reports from KCNA the North Korean news agency.

Using what appeared to be a Hwasong-12 variant rocket booster, the missile was launched from Chagang-Do by the Academy of Defence Science. The hypersonic gliding warhead detached from the booster and manoeuvred for around 120km before hitting its target.

Hypersonic missiles are designed to fly lower than conventional ballistic missiles to avoid radar detection, and travelling at more than Mach 3, change velocity and direction to evade anti-missile defences.

MILITARY: North Korea hypersonic missile (Graphic)
GN42174 Graphic shows North Korea’s hypersonic missile systems.
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December 23, 2021 -- Queen Elizabeth II will not spend the festive period at the Sandringham estate in eastern England. She has already called off her traditional pre-holiday family lunch at Buckingham Palace.

Instead, the monarch, 95, will remain at Windsor Castle, about 25 miles west of London, where she has spent most of the pandemic. Members of the Royal Family will join her.

According to official figures, the UK is suffering from an infection spike, with 584,000 positive cases reported in the past week -- a 63 per cent increase on the previous seven days.

For years, the royal family has spent the holidays at Sandringham, in Norfolk, where crowds gather to watch them attend the local church on Christmas Day.

During the autumn, the Queen had to withdraw from a series of public events, including the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow and the Remembrance Sunday service, because of health concerns.

2021 is the first year the Queen will have to celebrate the holidays without her late husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, who passed away at age 99 in April.

In 2022, Her Majesty will become the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee -- seventy years of service -- having acceded to the throne on February 6, 1952.

UK: Queen Elizabeth II timeline (Graphic)
GN42151 Graphic shows tabloid-style page displaying major events during the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
(284mm wide by 356mm deep) View graphic

December 25, 2021 -- The James Webb Space Telescope, the largest and most powerful observatory ever built, has launched successfully aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. Once in orbit, it will allow astronomers to peer into the farthest reaches of the universe.

Conceived 30 years ago as the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, the Webb is a joint project between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

The project has experienced numerous delays and cost overruns, ballooning from $500 million to almost $10 billion.

To fit inside the rocket, the telescope must be folded up, then unfolded in space in a series of manoeuvres in the first month after launch.

Webb features 18 hexagonal shaped mirrors arranged in a honeycomb shape 6.5 metres across, giving it a surface area 6.25 times larger than Hubble’s spherical 2.4m diameter primary mirror.

A Kapton foil sunshield the size of a tennis court blocks light from the sun, moon and Earth to keep the telescope extremely cool.

Webb will orbit the sun 1.5 million km from Earth at Lagrange point 2, where the gravitational pull from Earth and the sun balance out, allowing the observatory to remain stable.

While Hubble looks mostly in the visual and ultraviolet parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, Webb will look at longer wavelengths in the infrared, to see what the universe looked like around 100 to 250 million years after the Big Bang, when the first stars and galaxies were formed.

Webb will also look much closer to home, studying nearby exoplanets and objects within our solar system including Mars, the gas giants, and even some asteroids and comets.

SPACE: James Webb Space Telescope (Graphic)
GN41879 Graphic shows specifications of the James Webb Space Telescope and science behind the mission.
(219mm wide by 219mm) View graphic

January 1 - December 31, 2021 -- Have a look at how this interactive graphic auto-updates each day to show a range of international anniversaries and events today in history - a daily feature to engage your online visitors day after day.

EDITORS: This graphic is a responsive interactive that can be published in an iframe. The events and picture displayed are determined by the system clock on the device on which it is viewed.

The graphic can be published using embed code. If you host the graphic yourself you may wish to substitute some of the events or images to give a more national or local interest. The image and text for each day are held in the hypresources folder. Data is supplied for a whole year (instructions available - see below)


HISTORY: ON THIS DAY auto-updating (1) (Interactive UPDATED Jun 2)
GN40881 Responsive graphic shows anniversaries and events from today’s date in history. Changes automatically each day. Come back tomorrow to see anniversaries and events for that date.
(800px wide by 650px deep - auto updating)