“As the Russian president orders another shake-up of his military chiefs, the unit – run by Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin – is making gains in the eastern town of Soledar during some of the most vicious fighting of the war,” (Kim Sengupta/The Independent)
“While a thousands-strong force of UN peacekeepers and French troops have maintained a fragile status quo, an unknown number of Russian mercenaries now hold (The Central African Republic’s) balance of power.” (ABC.net)
Why Michelle Yeoh's 'shut up' at the Golden Globes was profound for Asian women (Kimmie Yam/NBCNews)
“Prince Harry: ‘This is not about trying to collapse the monarchy, this is about trying to save them from themselves’”(Telegraph)
“In anticipation of his upcoming Luther film, Idris Elba has announced the official date on Netflix and in theaters. The movie, titled Luther: The Fallen Sun, is slated to arrive in the next month in theaters and on the streaming platform month the following month.” (Hypebeast)
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr, son of the slain US presidential candidate, and other anti-vaccine activists have filed a lawsuit against several news organizations that have banded together to fight misinformation.” (Yahoo! via AFP)
What has become of the tens of thousands of people who have disappeared on their way to Europe? (TNY)
“IDF bulldozers are finishing a military road cutting through southeastern Syria to guard Israeli Golan from incursion by advancing Hizballah and other pro-Iranian groups … It run to a depth of between several meters to 1km inside Syrian territory.” (Debka)
“Former Oath Keeper Richard Dockery described the militia boasting in early January 2021 about ‘how they’re going to be doing the security role for Roger Stone,’ one of the president’s closest associates. Jeremy Bertino, a Proud Boys leader, told investigators that the president’s ‘stand back, stand by’ comment ‘tripled’ the group’s size.” (JustSecurity)
(Grace Panetta/Twitter)
CBS News boss Neeraj Khemlani faces internal HR review, sources say (P6)
“Disney CEO Bob Iger went sailing on his yacht while activist investor Nelson Peltz ramped up pressure on the media giant…” (Yahoo! Finance)
“A six-week-old government credit program is proving wildly popular in Kenya, but critics warn the Hustler fund won’t meet its goal of helping people to set up businesses and will ultimately be a waste of public funds. The small personal loans, ranging from $4 to $400 and accessible through mobile phones, are offered at an annual interest rate of 8% for just 14 days, lower than most commercial loans in Kenya but not the zero interest rate originally suggested by President William Ruto when he first announced the policy in last year’s election campaign. Almost 18 million people — about half the adult population — have taken over $100 million in loans from the fund, of which about 42.6% has been repaid so far.” (SEMAFOR)