A new COVID calamity is hammering China, with a surge in infections prompting a return of lockdowns, including in some manufacturing areas that supply the West.
China reported a record number of infections this week, amid lockdowns and mass testing that are fueling unrest and darkening the country's economic outlook. Schools in Beijing returned to online teaching.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended his decision earlier this year to invoke emergency powers to quell protests against the country's COVID-19 public health restrictions while testifying before a public inquiry on Friday.
Driving the news: The protests had began in Ottawa as opposition to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for truckers, but since expanded to include general opposition to public health restrictions and spread to other provinces.
Elon Musk announced Thursday a "general amnesty" for suspended Twitter accounts from next week, "provided that they have not broken the law" or engaged in "egregious spam."
Why it matters: Online monitoring groups have reported a rise in racism, anti-Semitism and other hate speech on Twitter since free speech advocate Musk completed his $44 billion acquisition of the social media company last month, though the billionaire said Thursday it has declined.
More than 15,000 people have gone missing in Ukraine since Russian forces launched their invasion, an official in the Kyiv office of the Hague-based International Commission on Missing Persons said Thursday.
The big picture: Matthew Holliday, the ICMP's program director for Europe, told Reuters the numbers were conservative and it wasn't clear how many of those missing had been "forcibly transferred," detained in Russia, separated from their families or had "died and been buried in makeshift graves."
China has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, as Beijing authorities lock down more areas this week — including parts of the central city Zhengzhou, where Apple's main iPhone factory is located.
The latest: China hit a new daily record for a second straight day on Friday as authorities moved to enforce restrictions in an attempt to control outbreaks across the country, per Reuters.
