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Millions of Chinese workers are on the move, the yen tumbles as the Bank of Japan holds firm on rates, and Microsoft looks set to cut thousands of jobs

by Linda Noakes

World News

A view shows the site where a helicopter crashed in the town of Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, January 18, 2023

Ukraine's interior minister was among at least 15 people killed when a helicopter crashed near a nursery outside Kyiv. Ukrainian officials said nine people on board the aircraft and six on the ground, including three children, died.
Millions of urban workers were on the move across China ahead of the expected Friday peak of its Lunar New Year mass migration. Unfettered when officials last month ended three years of some of the world's tightest COVID restrictions, workers streamed into railway stations and airports to head to smaller towns and rural homes, sparking fears of a broadening virus outbreak.
Officials in Nepal said there was no chance of finding any survivors of the country's deadliest plane crash in 30 years, but workers will continue to search for the remains of the last missing passenger.
Philippine Nobel laureate Maria Ressa and her news site Rappler were acquitted by a court of tax evasion charges, in a ruling that media watchdogs and human rights groups described as a win for press freedom and the rule of law.
Pacific island nations are urging Japan to delay the release of water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant over fears fisheries will be contaminated. The Japanese government said last week that water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant could be released into the sea "around this spring or summer".

Davos

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on business leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos to follow the principles outlined by an expert group to make "credible", accountable net-zero pledges.

Greta Thunberg is set to meet International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol in Davos tomorrow, the organiser of a planned round-table event told Reuters.

An improved economic outlook gives Europe the chance to double-down on efforts to boost its industrial competitiveness in key sectors from clean energy to semiconductors, EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said.

Spain's foreign minister said that Madrid and London were closing in on a deal to find a definitive solution settling the post-Brexit status of Gibraltar. The peninsula was excluded from the exit deal reached between Britain and the EU.

Moderna chief executive Stephane Bancel said the U.S. company was in active discussions to supply COVID vaccines to China. The company, whose COVID vaccines are made in the United States and Switzerland, is building or planning to build plants in Canada, Australia, Britain and Kenya.

U.S. News

President Joe Biden holds up a Golden State Warriors jersey during a ceremony with the team to celebrate their 2022 NBA championship in the East Room at The White House, January 17, 2023

The White House said it would respond in "good faith" to inquiries from lawmakers about the improper storage of classified documents at President Joe Biden's home and former office while accusing Republicans of hypocrisy in how they were pursuing the issue.
Biden's administration is urging a judge to reject a request by abortion opponents for a court order withdrawing federal approval for the drug used in medication abortions - which account for more than half of U.S. abortions - citing potential dangers to women seeking to end their pregnancies.
The Justice Department asked an appeals court panel to reverse an April 2021 ruling that declared unlawful a government order requiring masks on airplanes, buses, trains, ridesharing services and at airports and other transportation hubs.
Federal prosecutors will not seek the death penalty for the man accused of killing 23 people and injuring dozens more in a hate crime targeting people of Mexican descent at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, in 2019, a court document showed.
Porn star Ron Jeremy was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial in Los Angeles on rape and other sex charges involving 21 women. Jeremy, 69, pleaded not guilty in August 2021 to more than 30 counts of sexual assault, including 12 of rape, in the Los Angeles area over a 23-year period. He has been in prison since his arrest in June 2020.

Business & Markets

People walk at the headquarters of the Bank of Japan in Tokyo, January 18, 2023

The Bank of Japan maintained ultra-low interest rates, including a bond yield cap it was struggling to defend, defying market expectations it would phase out its massive stimulus program amid mounting inflationary pressure.
British inflation eased last month after hitting a 41-year high in October, offering some comfort to the Bank of England, but the pressure on households remained intense as food and drink prices rose at the fastest pace since 1977. Pay awards by employers held at 5% for the second month in a row in December.
A 2016 video that Tesla used to promote its self-driving technology was staged to show capabilities like stopping at a red light and accelerating at a green light that the system did not have, according to testimony by a senior engineer.
Microsoft plans to cut thousands of jobs with some roles expected to be eliminated in human resources and engineering divisions, according to media reports. The expected layoffs would be the latest in the U.S. technology sector, where companies including Amazon.com and Meta Platforms have announced retrenchment exercises in response to slowing demand and a worsening global economic outlook.
Mexican state oil company Pemex illegally burnt off hydrocarbon resources worth more than $342 million in the three years up to August 2022 at two of its most important new fields, internal documents from the country's oil regulator showed.
Cartier jewellery maker Richemont missed market forecasts during its latest quarter as the resurgence of COVID in China hit sales there, highlighting the country's importance for the luxury sector. Britain's Burberry said it is seeing "very promising" signs of recovery in China.

And Finally

Police officers detain climate activist Greta Thunberg at a protest against the expansion of the Garzweiler open-cast lignite mine in Luetzerath, Germany, January 17, 2023. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

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