World news round-up: 5 overnight developments from around the globe

1. US breaks Covid-19 hospitalisation record at over 132,000 as Omicron surges

Covid-19 hospitalisations in the United States reached a record high on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, as a surge in infections caused by the highly contagious Omicron variant strains health systems in several states. There were 1,32,646 people hospitalised with Covid, surpassing the record of 1,32,051 set in January last year.

Hospitalisations have increased steadily since late December, doubling in the last three weeks, as Omicron quickly overtook Delta as the dominant version of the virus in the United States. Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, Washington D, and Wisconsin have reported record levels of hospitalised Covid-19 patients recently, according to the Reuters analysis.

2. Wanted TTP commander Mohammad Khurasani killed in Afghanistan

Outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson and the militant group’s most wanted commander Khalid Batli alias Mohammad Khurasani was killed in the eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan along the border with Pakistan, defence sources said on Monday. Khurasani, the senior TTP commander, was involved in the killing of civilians and personnel of security forces in Pakistan. He was killed in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, defence sources here said, without disclosing the details.

3. Nearly 8,000 detained in Kazakhstan over violent protests

Nearly 8,000 people in Kazakhstan were detained by police during protests that descended into violence last week and marked the worst unrest the former Soviet nation has faced since gaining independence 30 years ago, authorities said Monday.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Monday described the unrest that followed initially peaceful protests against rising energy prices as a “terrorist aggression” against the mineral-rich Central Asian nation of 19 million and dismissed reports that authorities targeted peaceful demonstrators as “disinformation.”

4. No progress seen after Russia-US talks over Ukraine tensions

The United States and Russia locked horns over Ukraine and other security issues on Monday with no sign of progress from either side at highly anticipated strategic talks. Low expectations from both Washington and Moscow about the high-stakes session in Geneva appeared to have been met as senior diplomats from the two countries emerged without offering any hint of success.

Neither side characterised the meeting as a complete failure, but neither did they offer any prospect of easing the increasingly worrisome standoff over Russia’s military buildup on its border with Ukraine that the West sees as a fundamental threat to European security. Nor was there any indication of movement on other, perhaps less-explosive matters that have vexed the US-Russia relationship.

5. North Korea conducts second suspected missile test in less than a week

North Korea fired what was believed to a ballistic missile on Tuesday, South Korea’s military and the Japanese coast guard said, the second apparent missile launch in less than a week after the reclusive state’s leader urged more military advances.

The suspected ballistic missile launch was detected around 7.27 am from an inland area of North Korea toward the ocean off its east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement. The projectile appeared to have landed outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the Kyodo news agency reported, citing government sources in Tokyo.