COVID tests from US gov’t begin to arrive at homes
Americans have started to receive free coronavirus tests from the U.S. government in the mail after it began accepting orders Tuesday. The Biden administration said it would send 500 million rapid tests to Americans this month via the U.S. Postal Service after the omicron variant strained access to in-person and at-home tests. Each household is eligible for four free rapid tests and can order them at covidtests.gov. To make these deliveries, the Postal Service has had to transform its operations. The government has also updated 43 existing fulfillment centers across the country to be able to prepare the tests, the memo said.
A YouTuber’s plane crash draws doubts from aviation experts
The YouTube video begins with Trevor Jacob piloting a small aircraft with cameras attached, showing views above the Los Padres National Forest in Southern California. Then the propeller stops spinning. Jacob unleashes expletives and jumps out with a parachute, a selfie stick in hand to record. Almost immediately, however, viewers and aviation experts expressed doubts online over his portrayal of the Nov. 24 crash. It was orchestrated, they claimed, for views and likes, and several steps Jacob took, such as wearing a parachute in the first place, were evidence of a preconceived publicity stunt. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash and cause.
Taliban talks in Norway raise new debate about recognition
A Taliban delegation led by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday started three days of talks in Oslo with Western officials and Afghan civil society representatives amid a deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. The closed-door meetings were taking place at a hotel in the snow-capped mountains above the Norwegian capital and are the first time since the Taliban took over in August that their representatives have held official meetings in Europe. The talks were not without controversy, however, reigniting the debate over whether they legitimize the Taliban government, especially since they were being held in Norway, a NATO country involved in Afghanistan from 2001 until the Taliban take over last summer.
Gunfire rattles Burkina Faso’s capital as soldiers revolt
Gunfire erupted at military bases across the conflict-hit West African country of Burkina Faso early Sunday as part of an attempted mutiny by soldiers angered by their government’s failure to halt a wave of Islamic militant attacks. The firing started just before dawn at military bases in the capital, Ouagadougou, and in two other cities. When the shooting subsided hours later, the government issued a statement denying that a coup was underway and insisting that it was fully in control. Even so, soldiers retained control of the bases and demanded sweeping changes to the campaign against Islamic militants, badly undermining the government’s authority.
By wire sources