COVID — CHINA GETTING OFF-TRACK: As with every other country forced to abandon such a zero-Covid approach, Beijing's recent shift to looser Covid policies will be brutal. There's no national plan: Some municipal governments, including Beijing, are rushing out policies to restore pre-pandemic life, effective immediately Overall, the shift away from zero Covid was sudden — the very opposite of how Beijing's long-term planning normally works. Life and death: While China says it has recorded barely 5,000 Covid deaths until now, and admits to only two Covid deaths since Beijing abruptly changed course on Dec. 7, new foreign analysis suggests 2.1 million deaths could be expected in the next three months. That means the next few months could be brutal, without many safety nets to minimize the pain: There are no mRNA vaccines in China and economic growth is now anemic. As China opens up, Fang Fang, the author who captured the horrors of Wuhan in late 2019 and early 2020, is still paying the price. DIPLOMACY — CHINA GETTING ON-TRACK: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced the sixth Australia-China Foreign and Strategic Dialogue will take place on Wednesday. The last edition was held in 2018, before a bruising trade war and near freezing of diplomatic relations. Heading the dialogue, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong will meet with China's State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi on the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Beijing and Canberra resuming. RISK ALERT — PALEO VIRUSES: Russia's State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology, known as Vector, is analyzing the remains of mammoths, wooly rhinoceroses and other Ice Age animals to identify and revive prehistoric viruses, also known as paleo viruses. It's theoretically possible because the animals were almost perfectly preserved in the frozen earth (-55 Celsuis, actually) of northeast Siberia, writes Marc Bennetts in the Times of London. CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY TRACKER: The Atlantic Council calculates that 114 countries are now exploring establishing their own digital currencies — representing over 95 percent of global GDP — including around 60 in advanced or final stages of their research. KLEPTOWATCH AND SCANDAL CORNER MORE SHOCKING REVELATIONS IN BRITAIN: In the fourth installment of her jaw-dropping investigation into the British system of "All Party Parliamentary Groups," my London-based colleague Esther Webber speaks to a female British MP who alleges that she was touched inappropriately by a male MP more than 25 years her senior on an overseas visit. "What I was struck by is how much alcohol was consumed — pretty much every night till 2 or 3 in the morning," said the MP, who was granted anonymity to speak freely. The MP reported the incident to the party whips of the alleged perpetrator, with no effect. The MP says she now tries to avoid him in parliament wherever possible — sometimes by walking out of the room or walking with others. TELLTALE SIGN OF INFLUENCE BOUGHT ... THE POLITICIAN'S HIGH END WATCH: Did you know? In the case of Qatar's government gifting practices, "a foreign minister visiting the emirate usually receives a Patek Philippe watch. Visitors ranked below would receive an Audemars Piguet watch [worth about €60,000]. For parliamentarians there is an Omega or a Rolex, then a Cartier," wrote Christian Chesnot, a French journalist who has charted Qatar's diplomatic tactics. Bruno Le Maire, French finance minister, caused a diplomatic incident by rejecting an €85,000 Patek Philippe watch offered to him by the Qatari government.
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