World news digest of January 28, 2022

Some news around the world that didn’t make global headlines, in short:

• Rwanda announced on January 28 it would reopen its borders with Uganda on Monday. They were shuttered for nearly three years because of tensions between the countries.
• Sweden has become on January 27 the first country in the world to approve a definitive storing system for civil nuclear waste, said to be “safe for 100,000 years”.
• Colombia violates the peace agreement with the FARC. According to the Constitutional Court, the country doesn’t sufficiently protect the former members of the organization as hundreds of them have been assassinated since 2016.
• If Hong Kong continues with its stringent measures against Covid-19, the city may face a massive exodus of European companies and expats, a draft report of the European Chamber of Commerce said.
• In Canada, a “freedom convoy“ of truck drivers en route to Parliament Hill in Ottawa protests against a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for crossing the U.S.-Canada border. Individuals participating in the protest along the road supporting truckers say it goes beyond the vaccine mandate and want the end of restrictions.
• Toyota retains its crown as world’s biggest car seller in 2021.
• In Greece, music in restaurants and bars will be allowed again from January 31 but people will need to remain seated.
• Lebanon, Syria and Jordan signed an agreement in which Jordanian electricity would be supplied to Lebanon via Syrian territory. The United States facilitated the deal to partially alleviate the power cuts Lebanon regularly experiences. The project waits on World Bank funds to start.
• The Philippines signed a contract with India to buy an anti-ship missile system for its navy worth US$375 million. It is the first major military export for India.
• Ethiopia has announced a countrywide rollout of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) testing method, in an effort to improve cervical cancer screening. Two years ago, the country introduced the HPV vaccine, which reduces risks of cervical cancer by 70%, into its routine immunization schedule and became the 16th African country to do so.
• Nigeria President declared the country is self-sufficient in cement with the construction of 4 plants in the last 6 years.