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Here’s what you need to know
The UK will donate surplus Covid vaccines to developing countries. Prime minister Boris Johnson will make the pledge at today’s G7 virtual meeting with world leaders. Read more below.
Uber awaits a ruling from Britain’s Supreme Court. It’s the final stop for its appeal against a decision that its UK drivers should be classified as full-time employees, a major blow to the gig-economy model.
The US is ready to talk with Iran to restore the nuclear deal… However, Tehran hasn’t indicated whether it would accept such an invitation from the EU, which would host the talks.
…and imposed travel restrictions on Belarusian officials. The 43 people are accused of repressing protesters and journalists who rallied against the country’s president Alexander Lukashenko.
Canada vows to be next to make Facebook and Google pay for news. It criticized Facebook for blocking news in Australia after the country proceeded with a measure to compel the tech giants to pay publishers for content shared on their platforms.
Texas senator Ted Cruz apologized for his Cancun vacation. The lawmaker and his family left the state for Mexico as snowstorms caused power outages that left millions without heating or clean water.
The Netherlands is scrambling to pass a curfew law. The Senate will debate the law today in an attempt to get ahead of a court hearing on the measure, which sparked riots after its introduction last month.
What to watch for
It’s multilateralism Friday. Buckle up.
Today, UK prime minister Boris Johnson will convene a virtual meeting of the Group of Seven nations to discuss the role democracies should play in pandemics—both this one and future ones. (RSVP’d yes: The leaders of the US, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan.)
The UK holds the rotating presidency of the G7 in 2021, and Johnson wants to use the platform to boost the image of Britain as a force for good in the world after Brexit. He also wants to start working on a joint China strategy, but that may be an uphill battle.
But wait, there’s more. Johnson and his colleagues Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, and Angela Merkel, will also appear at a special edition of the Munich Security Conference to lay out a “new transatlantic agenda.” Four years of Donald Trump damaged relations between the US and Europe, at a time when they face major common challenges, including climate change and the increasing influence of Russia and China. But Biden is hoping he can get things back on track.
Charting US e-commerce
US e-commerce sales soared nearly 30% in the last three months of 2020. And demand recently rose again after Congress approved $600 stimulus payments for individuals who earn up to $75,000.
But as Karen Ho explains, the fast-growing sector is on a collision course with climate change, as more frequent and more severe storms and phenomena like wildfires wreak havoc on delivery services, warehouses, and supply chains.
The Mars-Earth connection
NASA’s Perseverance rover made a successful landing on Mars on Thursday afternoon at 3:55pm US eastern time. This one huge step for a robot has pretty big ramifications for geopolitics, too. The red planet may seem a little crowded lately, with probes from China and the UAE arriving last week, but the timing was driven by its relative proximity to Earth last year when the missions launched.
It also represents a symbolic lineup: The reigning space power and its main competitor, along with a third nation outlining a new model of national space investment. Tim Fernholz explains why the world should keep its eye on the sky.
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You asked about India’s pandemic progress
Some experts are saying the pandemic is over in India. Is that true and if so, how did they do it?
It’s certainly what the data are indicating, though there’s some question about their reliability. Assuming they’re true, the most likely reason that Covid-19 failed to cause the projected 2 million deaths has a lot to do with the country’s quick response. Early and very strictly enforced lockdowns—though they caused other humanitarian crises—coupled with consistent urging of mask usage by the government seemed to keep the virus from spreading across regions.
But even hefty fines in some areas didn’t convince everyone to wear masks and practice social distancing, so why are India’s numbers looking so good? Some scientists think that South Asians do have some immunity against the virus. Plus, young people abound, and a case for herd immunity could be made. Manavi Kapur rounds up some theories.
Surprising discoveries
“The dogecoin market has a pack leader.” One anonymous person holds 28% of the joke cryptocurrency that Elon Musk has been championing.
Five men spent nearly four years stranded at sea. Now they’re back on dry land and can finally go home.
Who knew a fart machine could be so cute? Panasonic, when it made this farting cat robot.
Scientists taught pigs to play video games. Just wait until they hear about Angry Birds.
A 12th-century Islamic bathhouse was hiding behind the walls of a Spanish tapas bar. It was discovered during pandemic renovations.
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