Herald section
The latest reporting from across the Belfast Herald news desks.
Russia reports a record for the tenth consecutive day of 121,288 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 11.37 million.
Storm Malik impacts the British Isles, killing two people, and causing widespread damage in Scotland and Northern England.
Participants in the Freedom Convoy arrived at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates and public health restrictions, causing widespread gridlock and business closures in the downtown core.
Russia recorded 113,122 new daily cases for the ninth consecutive day, raising the national total to 1.61 million. The surge is linked to the Omicron variant and follows a sharp rise in infections over the prior week.
South Korea recorded 17,542 new daily COVID-19 cases, marking the fifth consecutive day of record infections, raising the national total to 811,122.
Australia reported 98 daily deaths from COVID-19, the highest since the pandemic began, with 35 in New South Wales. The figure surpassed the previous record of 88 deaths set just days earlier.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia does not seek war, following U.S. President Joe Biden's warning of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine in February. The statement came amid increased military deployments and diplomatic tensions.
South Korea reports a record for the third consecutive day of 16,096 new COVID-19 cases, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 793,582.