Italy’s government close to collapse ahead of Renzi news conference

ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s government was hanging by a thread on Wednesday ahead of a news conference by former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi who has threatened to pull his tiny centrist party out of the ruling coalition, triggering its collapse.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-politics/italys-government-close-to-collapse-ahead-of-renzi-news-conference-idUSKBN29I1YG?il=0

Germany Confirms 19,600 New Coronavirus Cases

The global COVID-19 tally is now over 91,500,000, and the death toll is at 1.96 million, according to Johns Hopkins University in the US.

The United States remains the worst-hit nation amid the pandemic, with over 22.8 million infected, and a death toll of 380,000. It is followed by India (10.4 million cases, over 151,000 fatalities) and Brazil (over 8.1 million cases, more than 204,000 deaths).

In western Europe, the UK has the highest tally, with over 3 million infected and more than 81,500 deaths, as the country has been hit by a new coronavirus strain that resulted in a national lockdown. At the same time, Great Britain and other European countries have launched mass vaccination campaigns to stop the pandemic.

https://sputniknews.com/world/202101131081748473-live-updates-germany-confirms-19600-new-coronavirus-cases/

Goodbye, Big Tech? People are losing trust in social media platforms, economist tells Boom Bust

WhatsApp users have been turning to other encrypted messaging services, particularly Telegram and Signal, since the Facebook-owned app updated its privacy terms. The rival apps have now been uploaded millions of times worldwide.

RT’s Boom Bust is joined by Jeffrey Tucker from the American Institute for Economic Research, who believes it’s β€œa glorious moment” in the history of technology. 

According to Tucker, after 20 years of ignoring terms and conditions, people have finally wised up to what these companies are about.Β β€œThey don’t trust them in the same way they did in the past,” Tucker says, when everybody uploaded all their information and trusted Big Tech to keep it secure.

https://www.rt.com/business/512365-goodbye-big-tech-whatsapp/

Italy to extend COVID state of emergency to end of April

ROME (Reuters) – Italy will extend a state of emergency imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus until the end of April as infections currently show no sign of abating, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Wednesday.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy-emergency/italy-to-extend-covid-state-of-emergency-to-end-of-april-idUSKBN29I1L4?il=0

Iranian Scientists Urge IRGC Aerospace Force to Shoot Down Any Intruding US B-52s

In late December, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif signalled the Islamic Republic’s readiness to defend its “security and vital interests” amid the US military buildup near the country’s borders. He accused Washington of wasting hefty sums to repeatedly send B-52 bombers to the region instead of focusing on the fight against COVID-19.

Hundreds of Iranian scientists have urgedΒ the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard CorpsΒ (IRGC) Aerospace Force to destroy any US warplanes, especially B-52 bombers, and American warships if they trepass Iran’s borders, the FARS news agency reports.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202101131081753486-iranian-scientists-urge-irgc-aerospace-force-to-shoot-down-any-intruding-us-b-52s/

U.S. House poised to impeach Trump for his role in Capitol assault

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A week after President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on Wednesday to impeach the president for his role in an assault on American democracy that stunned the nation and left five dead.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump/u-s-house-poised-to-impeach-trump-for-his-role-in-capitol-assault-idUSKBN29I190