December 21, 2021

​​​*) Omicron replaces Delta to become dominant Covid version in US Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the US, accounting for 73 percent of new infections last week. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers showed nearly a six-fold increase in Omicron's share of infections in only one week. Omicron is responsible for an estimated 90 percent or more of new infections in the New York area, the Southeast, the industrial Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest. *) Philippines death toll from Typhoon Rai rises to at least 375 The death toll from a powerful typhoon that hit the Philippines has risen to 375, with more than 1.8 million people affected and hundreds of thousands forced to leave their homes. Officials and residents pleaded for food, water and shelter as damaged roads, flooding and severed power and communication lines hampered relief efforts. Typhoon Rai made landfall and caused heavy rains for days, resulting in severe flooding and power outages in several provinces. *) Turkiye's Erdogan: Govt measures will protect people from high costs Turkiye’s lira has pared back some of its losses after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced measures aimed at protecting the country's people from high cost of living. One of his promises is that Turkish citizens who keep their savings in lira will not pay tax on any profits those savings make. Erdogan’s announcement comes amid rising prices and soaring exchange rates as the government pursues its “new economic model”, which opposes high interest rates. *) Tigray forces announce retreat from neighbouring Ethiopian regions We move next to Ethiopia, where the Tigray People's Liberation Front says its fighters will withdraw from the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar and retreat to Tigray. The rebels say they took the decision in a bid to reach a peace deal and allow the entry of humanitarian aid but the government says the TPLF is trying to cover up its recent military defeats.