1. Biden offers new Ukraine aid
On Thursday, President Joe Biden and other western allies pledged to offer Ukraine sanctions and humanitarian aid.
According to AP News, Biden announced “the U.S. would welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees — though he said many probably prefer to stay closer to home — and provide an additional $1 billion in food, medicine, water and other supplies.”
The offer comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked for military assistance through live video streams.
Western leaders also discussed how they might respond if Russia deployed a chemical, biological or nuclear weapon. Biden warned a chemical attack by Russia “would trigger a response in kind.”
According to AP News, Western leaders were treading carefully so as not to further escalate the conflict beyond the borders of Ukraine.
“NATO has made a choice to support Ukraine in this war without going to war with Russia,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. “Therefore we have decided to intensify our ongoing work to prevent any escalation and to get organized in case there is an escalation.”
For more information on the Russia-Ukraine war, visit AP News.
2. Uber places New York City cabs on app
Mobile ride platform, Uber, placed New York City apps on their app in lieu of driver shortages and an increase of food delivery requests.
According to AP News, the partnership would’ve been deemed “unthinkable” before the pandemic since both uber and city taxis offer the same service.
“After a period in which waits for an Uber ride grew longer due to a driver shortage, the partnership will boost the number of rides available, and it gives NYC cab drivers access to a massive pool of commuters with an Uber app on their phones,” reports AP News.
The decision comes as more cities are looking to regulate the growth of Uber and other ride-calling services.
“After its business model has shown the failures to protect drivers from ridership downturns and rising gas prices, Uber is returning to its roots: yellow cabs,” Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of the New York City Workers Alliance (NYCWA) said in a statement on Thursday.
3. Apple resolves iMessage outage
Apple announces it has resolved the issues that caused iMessage outages on Thursday.
This comes as the tech company had to deal with disruptions to its service multiple times this week.
“User reports complaining of iMessage outages on Downdetector.com started climbing shortly after 4:20 p.m. ET, and later hit over 1,100,” reports Reuters.
According to Reuters, Apple also experienced issues with its mobile App Store and music streaming.
“The company did not respond to a request for comment on the reasons for the recent outage,” Reuters said.
