Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that he is invokingemergency powers to deal with ongoing protests against the country’s COVID-19 health restrictions.
Why it matters: This is the first time Canada's Emergencies Act has been invoked and will give the government broad powers for 30 days, per the Guardian.
The U.S. is temporarily relocating its embassy operations from Kyiv to Lviv in western Ukraine "due to the dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.
Why it matters: The Biden administration is taking extreme precautions in the face of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, which U.S. officials believe may be planned for Wednesday.
The U.S. has suspended all imports of Mexican avocados from the state of Michoacan "until further notice" after a U.S. plant safety inspector in Mexico received a threatening message, Mexico's Agriculture Department confirmed in a statement Saturday.
Why it matters: Michoacan is the only state in Mexico fully authorized to export avocados to the U.S., so the temporary suspension effectively amounts to a pause on all imports of Mexican avocados, per AP.
Diplomatic efforts with the West to end the crisis over Ukraine "are far from exhausted" and should be continued, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told President Vladimir Putin during a televised meeting in Moscow on Monday.
Why it matters: The U.S. has repeatedly said that, based on its intelligence, a Russia invasion of Ukraine could happen "at any time."
Israel's decision to call for its nationals to leave Ukraine immediately was based on an updated intelligence report shared by the U.S. on Friday evening, five Israeli officials with direct knowledge of the issue tell Axios.
Why it matters: Israel has strong relationships with both Russia and Ukraine and for weeks avoided taking any significant steps that could upset either partner. Israeli officials say they didn’t want to automatically follow everything the U.S. did or said, but the latest intelligence changed the equation.
Daily coronavirus cases in Hong Kong have increased by about 20 times over the past two weeks, overwhelming the city's hospitals and forcing its government to change its response strategy, Reuters reports.
Why it matters: Hong Kong's government said Sunday that it would roll back its policy of hospitalizing all people who test positive for the virus and would instead prioritize hospital beds for children, older people and other individuals with serious infections, according to the New York Times.
Oil prices Monday morning have slipped off seven-year highs reached earlier in the session as markets brace for a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine that would likely send prices soaring above $100 per barrel.
Why it matters: The potential invasion — which U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says could happen "any day" — is putting upward pressure on already-high prices amid the demand recovery from COVID and tight supply.
The Biden administration believes Beijing is gauging the U.S. response to Russian threats to Ukraine as a proxy for how America would deal with more Chinese aggression against Taiwan, Bloomberg reports.
Why it matters: If Putin invades this week, as U.S. intelligence says could happen "any day now," the West would have new worries about the security of Taiwan, which is claimed by China. Beijing has increased military activity nearby in the past two years.
Kaillie Humphries won Team USA its seventh Beijing Winter Olympics gold medal on Monday, in the inaugural monobob race.
The big picture: Fellow bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor won silver, while Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue took bronze in the ice dance as the Americans propelled the U.S. to joint-third with Canada on the medal table on Day 10 of the Games.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Kyiv on Monday for crisis talks on concerns of an imminent Russian invasion, as Ukraine's foreign minister requested a meeting with Kremlin officials within the next 48 hours.
Driving the news: The U.S. and other Western nations began evacuating most embassy staff from Kyiv over the weekend, as National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN "a major military action could begin by Russia in Ukraine any day now — that includes this coming week."
Canadian officials reopened a major U.S.-Canada border crossing on Sunday night that's been blockaded by protesters for six days, but warned non-essential travel "is not advised."
Yes, but: While officials said "normal border processing has resumed" on Ambassador Bridge, hundreds of demonstrators in Canada's capital, Ottawa, continued to rally around Parliament Hill, per the New York Times.
The big picture: This is Humphries' third Olympic gold medal and her first as a U.S. citizen. She moved to the U.S. after alleging a Canadian coach had mentally and verbally abused her.
