Tuesday, December 22, 2020 - a podcast by TRT World

*) US Senate passes $900B Covid-19 relief bill

The US Congress has passed a $900 billion Covid-19 aid bill that combines virus-fighting funds with financial relief for individuals and businesses.

The relief package sped through the House in a matter of hours with Senate following soon after, sending the bill to President Donald Trump.

Before the bill was passed, President-elect Joe Biden received his first dose of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine in Delaware.

*) UK isolated over new virus strain

More than two dozen countries from India to Argentina have suspended flights from the UK to contain a faster-spreading variant of Covid-19.

Global stocks along with oil prices and the pound have fallen after the UK reported the new strain.

Some countries also banned flights from South Africa after it said last week that a new virus mutation may be responsible for a surge in infections.

*) Al Jazeera journalists targeted by spyware

Dozens of journalists at Al Jazeera have had their mobile communications intercepted by sophisticated electronic surveillance.

That’s according to cybersecurity watchdog Citizen Lab after a months-long investigation.

The news outlet said it approached the watchdog after receiving suspicious messages on a device used to contact people for comment.

The hack reportedly used Pegasus spyware developed by Israel's NSO Group.

*) Tech giants battle Israel’s NSO

Some Big Tech companies are battling Israeli hacking company NSO in a US court, calling the firm's tools "powerful and dangerous."

NSO says that, because it sells digital break-in tools to police and spy agencies, it should benefit from "sovereign immunity".

But the tech giants argue that awarding sovereign immunity to NSO would lead to a proliferation of hacking technology among foreign governments.

And finally…

*) Jupiter and Saturn say hello

Jupiter and Saturn have come within the planetary kissing range in an intimacy that will not occur again until 2080.

Despite appearances, the two gas planets were actually more than 730 million kilometres apart.

This "great conjunction", as it is known to astronomers, is a celestial phenomenon not seen in 397 years.

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