Row over Taiwan

Taiwan remains a major source of dispute between China and the United States. Now, Beijing warns that Washington is at risk of paying ’an unbearable price’ because of its actions over the island. The Chinese Foreign Minister says the US is pushing Taiwan towards independence, warning that the policy will propel the island into an extremely dangerous situation. Wang Yi also says Taiwan has no alternative but to reunify with the mainland. China regards Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory. While the US recognizes only one China, it’s been providing Taipei with arms support. President Joe Biden has even approved a bill that allocates around 7 billion dollars for missions to counter China in the Pacific, and support Taiwan.

East-West tensions

Russian President Vladimir Putin says his county and Belarus will hold joint military drills on Belarusian territory in February or March 2022. Putin made the announcement at a meeting with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in St Petersburg. This comes amid unprecedented tensions between Moscow and the West over Ukraine which borders both Russia and Belarus. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden and Putin have scheduled to have a phone call on Thursday. A senior US official said Biden will offer Putin a ’diplomatic path’ out of tensions around Ukraine but remains concerned by Russian troop movements. The US-led NATO has stepped up anti-Russia rhetoric, claiming that Moscow is preparing to invade Ukraine. Moscow denies the allegations.

US new COVID record

The new wave of Coronavirus pandemic, driven by the Omicron variant, is raging in the United States, setting a record high in daily cases. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the seven-day average of new cases has topped 265,000. The last time the number of cases hit a peak was in January. Government data show that around 60 percent infections have been caused by the omicron strain. Michigan, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire are the hardest-hit states. The outbreaks have also created long lines at testing sites and caused shortage of home kits. The US is the world’s worst-hit nation by COVID-19 both in deaths and infections.