Electric vehicle fires: US safety agency opens probe into batteries

US safety regulators have opened an investigation into electric and hybrid vehicle batteries after five automakers issued recalls due to possible defects that could cause fires or stalling. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the probe covers more than 1,38,000 vehicles with batteries made by LG Energy Solution of South Korea. General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Stellantis and Volkswagen have issued recalls since February of 2020. AP

Kim Jong’s sister threatens S Korea with nuclear strike

Kim Jong Un’s influential sister threatened South Korea with a nuclear strike if it tried to attack, in what appeared like an effort to justify future provocations to challenge the hawkish new president soon taking power in Seoul. Kim Yo Jong said that if South Korea “opts for military confrontation with us, our nuclear combat force will have to inevitably carry out its duty,” the official Korean Central News Agency reported. Bloomberg

Shanghai Covid cases top 13,000 as city locks down

Shanghai reported more than 13,000 daily Covid-19 cases for the first time, as a sweeping lockdown of its 25 million residents and mass testing uncovered an extensive spread of the highly infectious omicron variant. The outbreak in the financial hub pushed the national total total to 16,412 local infections for Monday, the highest one-day figure recorded in the world’s second-largest economy. Bloomberg

Amazon books 83 rockets for its satellite network

Amazon.com has secured 83 rocket launches over 5 years to put together a satellite constellation, called Project Kuiper, to beam broadband internet, the firm said on Tuesday, as it looks to take on Elon Musk-owned SpaceX's Starlink. The deals were inked with Europe's Arianespace, Jeff Bezos-founded Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance (ULA), Amazon said. Reuters

Kuwait premier resigns as political crisis intensifies

Kuwait’s Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah has resigned to avert a new push by opposition lawmakers to remove him from office, deepening a long-running political standoff that’s held back the economy. The premier was questioned in parliament last week, with a vote of non-cooperation to follow on Wednesday. Opposition lawmakers, who have repeatedly pushed for his ouster, looked set to have the required support to force him out. Bloomberg