Dominating the News

• NATO’s secretary-general warned of a “real risk for new armed conflict in Europe” after fruitless talks with Russia over its threat to Ukraine. Russia’s unrealistic demands include a pledge that NATO not be expanded.

• Tonga suffered an “unprecedented disaster” following an underwater volcanic eruption caused a tsunami.

• North Korea confirmed it had successfully launched a ballistic missile that might strike a target as much as 5,500km away - its longest-range test in five years.

• The army in Burkina Faso suspended the constitution, closed international borders and ousted the president hours after detaining him.

• The Foreign Correspondents Club reported media freedom in China to be shrinking at “breakneck speed”, with journalists frequently subjected to physical assault, online abuse and having visas denied.

• The United Arab Emirates promised retaliation after drones directed by Houthi rebels killed three people near Abu Dhabi. America and the UN condemned the attack.

• A study published in the Lancet found the deaths of 1.3m people in 2019 attributable to antibiotic resistance - nearly as many deaths as from malaria and HIV combined - citing an “overlooked pandemic”.

• There were calls for Boris Johnson to resign as Britain’s prime minister if it is proven that he and his aides broke strict lockdown rules.

• The World Health Organisation said it was too early to begin treating covid-19 as an endemic disease, anticipating half the population of Europe would be infected within two months at current rates of growth.

• The World Bank predicted global growth would decelerate sharply in 2022 because of new covid variants, rising inflation and policy uncertainty.

• The IMF lowered its global growth forecast for 2022. According to its latest World Economic Outlook, global GDP growth is expected to fall from 5.9% in 2021 to 4.4% this year and 3.8% in 2023.