A damaged building in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, on January 2, 2023.

SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images

• Russia said a Ukrainian HIMARS strike in the occupied Donetsk region in Ukraine killed dozens of its soldiers. 
• The Russians say 89 soldiers were killed, and blamed their own troops for using cell phones.
• According to the Russians, these cell phone signals gave their soldiers’ locations away.

The Russian Ministry of Defense says so many of its troops died in a recent Ukrainian attack in the Donetsk region, because soldiers were using cell phones and gave their location away. 

On New Year’s Eve, Russian troops came under attack in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Makiivka. The Russians say they were struck by Ukrainian troops equipped with US-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers.

But in a statement posted on the defense ministry’s Telegram channel on Tuesday, the Russians blamed their own soldiers for “allowing the enemy to locate and determine the coordinates of the location of military personnel for launching a missile strike.”

“It is already obvious that the main reason for what happened was the switching on and massive use — contrary to the prohibition — by personnel of mobile phones in a reach zone of enemy weapons,” the statement from the Russian defense ministry read. 

On Tuesday, Russia said 63 of its soldiers died in the New Year’s strike by Ukrainian forces. The defense ministry’s statement on Telegram reported a later death toll of 89. 

Ukraine’s military reported a higher number of Russian casualties from the attack — around 400 — but this figure has not been independently verified.

The use of cell phones on the battlefield by Russian soldiers has become a risk for Russian soldiers. But it’s been a boon for Ukraine, which has used intercepted calls to locate Russian troops since the start of the war.

An investigation from the New York Times released last month found that Ukrainian forces discovered upticks in frantic calls from foreign numbers and used them to pinpoint the location of Russian troops. 

“We listened to the Russian soldiers as they panicked and called their friends and relatives,” a Ukrainian official told The Times. “They used ordinary phones to make decisions about their further moves.”

Representatives for the Kremlin did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Global health officials tried to determine the facts of China’s raging COVID-19 outbreak and how to prevent a further spread as the government’s mouthpiece newspaper on Wednesday rallied citizens for a “final victory” over the virus.

China’s axing of its stringent virus curbs last month has unleashed COVID on a 1.4 billion population that has little natural immunity having been shielded from the virus since it emerged in its Wuhan city three years ago.

Funeral homes have reported a spike in demand for their services, hospitals are packed with patients, and international health experts predict at least one million deaths in China this year.

But officially, China has reported a small number of COVID deaths since the policy U-turn and has played down concerns about a disease that it was previously at pains to eradicate through mass lockdowns even as the rest of the world opened up.

“China and the Chinese people will surely win the final victory against the epidemic,” Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily said in an editorial, rebutting criticism of its tough anti-virus regime that triggered historic protests late last year.

As it now dismantles those restrictions, China has been particularly critical of decisions by some countries to impose a requirement for a COVID test on its citizens, saying they are unreasonable and lack scientific basis.

Health officials from the 27-member European Union are due to meet on Wednesday on a coordinated response to deal with implications of increased travel from China.

Most European Union countries favour pre-departure COVID testing for travellers from China, the European Commission said on Tuesday, following similar measures imposed by the United States, Britain, South Korea and others.

China, which has been largely shut off from the world since the pandemic began in late 2019, will stop requiring inbound travellers to quarantine from Jan. 8. But it will still demand that arriving passengers get tested before they begin their journeys.

Meanwhile, World Health Organization officials met Chinese scientists on Tuesday amid concern over the accuracy of China’s data on the spread and evolution of its outbreak.

The U.N. agency had invited the scientists to present detailed data on viral sequencing and to share data on hospitalizations, deaths and vaccinations.

The WHO would release information about the talks later, probably at a Wednesday briefing, its spokesperson said. The spokesperson earlier said the agency expected a “detailed discussion” about circulating variants in China, and globally.

Last month, Reuters reported that the WHO had not received data from China on new COVID hospitalisations since Beijing’s policy shift, prompting some health experts to question whether it might be concealing the extent of its outbreak.

China reported five new COVID-19 deaths for Tuesday, compared with three a day earlier, bringing the official death toll to 5,258, very low by global standards.

But the toll is widely believed to be much higher. British-based health data firm Airfinity has said about 9,000 people in China are probably dying each day from COVID.

There were chaotic scenes at Shanghai’s Zhongshan hospital where patients, many of them elderly, jostled for space on Tuesday in packed halls between makeshift beds where people used oxygen ventilators and got intravenous drips.

With COVID disruptions slowing China’s $17 trillion economy to its lowest growth in nearly half a century, investors are now hoping policymakers will intervene to counter the slide.

China’s yuan hovered at a four-month high against the dollar on Wednesday, after its finance minister pledged to step up fiscal expansion this year, days after the central bank said it would implement more policy support for the economy.

Despite some countries imposing restrictions on Chinese visitors, interest in outbound travel from the world’s most populous country is cranking up, state media reported.

Bookings for international flights from China have risen by 145% year-on-year in recent days, the government-run China Daily newspaper reported, citing data from travel booking platform Trip.com.

The number of international flights to and from China is still a fraction of pre-COVID levels. The government has said it will increase flights and make it easier for people to travel abroad.

Thailand, a major destination for Chinese tourists, is expecting at least five million Chinese arrivals this year, its tourism authority said on Tuesday.

More than 11 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand in 2019, nearly a third of its total visitors.

But there are already signs that an increase in travel from China could pose problems abroad.

South Korea, which began testing travellers from China for COVID on Monday, said more than a fifth of the test results were positive.

Authorities there were hunting on Wednesday for one Chinese national who tested positive but went missing while awaiting quarantine. The person, who was not identified, could face up to a year in prison or fines of 10 million won ($7,840).

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday finalized a rule change that broadens availability of abortion pills to many more pharmacies, including large chains and mail-order companies.

The Biden administration partially implemented the change last year, announcing it would no longer enforce a long-standing requirement that women pick up the medicine in person. Tuesday’s action formally updates the drug’s labeling to allow many more retail pharmacies to dispense the pills, so long as they complete a certification process.

The change could expand access at both brick-and-mortar stores and online pharmacies. Women can get a prescription via telehealth consultation with a health professional, and then receive the pills through the mail, where permitted by law.

Still, the rule change’s impact has been blunted by numerous state laws limiting abortion broadly and the pills specifically. Legal experts foresee years of court battles over access to the pills, as abortion-rights proponents bring test cases to challenge state restrictions.

For more than 20 years, the FDA labeling had limited dispensing to a subset of specialty offices and clinics, due to safety concerns. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA temporarily suspended the in-person requirement. The agency later said a new scientific review by agency staff supported easing access, concurring with numerous medical societies that had long said the restriction wasn’t necessary.

Two drugmakers that make brand-name and generic versions of abortion pills requested the latest FDA label update. Agency rules require a company to file an application before modifying dispensing restrictions on drugs.

Danco Laboratories, which sells branded Mifeprex, said in a statement the change “is critically important to expanding access to medication abortion services and will provide healthcare providers” with another option for prescribing the drug.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists called the update an “important step” forward.

“Although the FDA’s announcement today will not solve access issues for every person seeking abortion care, it will allow more patients who need mifepristone for medication abortion additional options to secure this vital drug,” the group said in a statement.

More than half of U.S. abortions are now done with pills rather than surgery, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights.

The FDA in 2000 approved mifepristone to terminate pregnancies of up to 10 weeks, when used with a second drug, misoprostol. Mifepristone is taken first to dilate the cervix and block the hormone progesterone, which is needed to sustain a pregnancy. Misoprostol is taken 24 to 48 hours later, causing the uterus to contract and expel pregnancy tissue.

Bleeding is a common side effect, though serious complications are very rare. The FDA says more than 3.7 million U.S. women have used mifepristone since its approval.

Several FDA-mandated safety requirements remain in effect, including training requirements to certify that prescribers can provide emergency care in the case of excessive bleeding. Pharmacies that dispense the pills also need a certification.

© Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Matt Gaetz and Kevin McCarthy.

Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images; Win McNamee/Getty Images

• Matt Gaetz is accusing Kevin McCarthy of squatting in the speaker’s office.
• Gaetz wrote a letter to the Architect of the Capitol after McCarthy failed to get enough Republican votes.
• Gaetz questioned why McCarthy was allowed to occupy the speaker’s office despite three failed votes.

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz is accusing Rep. Kevin McCarthy of squatting in the speaker’s suite, despite not having landed the job yet. 

“The Speaker of the House Office in the Capitol is currently being occupied by Kevin McCarthy,” Gaetz tweeted Tuesday night. “Kevin McCarthy is not the Speaker of the House. He lost 3 consecutive votes today. I’m demanding answers from the Architect of the Capitol.” 

—Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) January 4, 2023

 

Gaetz included in his tweet a copy of a letter dated January 3, which he sent from his congressional office to J. Brett Blanton, the Architect of the Capitol. 

He added in his letter that the role of speaker had not been decided after Congress adjourned on Tuesday. This followed three votes where Republicans mutinied against McCarthy, denying him the votes he needed to secure the speakership.

“What is the basis in law, House rule, or precedent to allow someone who has placed second in three successive speaker elections to occupy the Speaker of the House Office?” Gaetz questioned. “How long will he remain there before he is considered a squatter?” 

Gaetz urged Blanton to respond “promptly,” arguing that McCarthy “can no longer be considered Speaker-Designate following today’s balloting.” 

NBC reporter Haley Talbot on January 2 posted a video of what appeared to be McCarthy’s items being moved into the speaker’s office, even before votes were held to confirm his position. If McCarthy does not get the job after multiple rounds of voting, he will have to vacate the premises. 

—Haley Talbot (@haleytalbotnbc) January 2, 2023

 

Gaetz has been a prominent figure in the effort to derail McCarthy’s speaker bid. On Tuesday, Gaetz — one of the five hardline “Never Kevin” representatives — strongly rebuked the California congressman. 

“If you want to drain the swamp, you cannot put the biggest alligator in charge of the exercise,” Gaetz said of McCarthy. “I’m a Florida man and I know of what I speak.”

Gaetz on Tuesday also said he was told not voting for McCarthy for speaker would result in his committee assignments being taken away. 

Gaetz has long supported alternatives to McCarthy. In August, Gaetz said at CPAC he does not think McCarthy should lead the GOP.

Representatives for Gaetz and McCarthy did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.

McCarthy needs 218 votes to secure the gavel. Voting is expected to resume on Wednesday.