G7 delegates square up to Russia on Ukraine: The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven forum have warned Russia of “massive consequences and severe cost” if it were to attack Ukraine, in a joint statement released after the officials met in Liverpool on Saturday and Sunday. American intelligence assessments reportedly suggest that Russia, which has been amassing troops on its border with Ukraine, could be planning to invade the country as early as next year. The US has been doing its own outreach on the issue in recent weeks, with President Joe Biden deploying both carrots and sticks in attempts to dissuade Russian President Vladimir Putin from making the move.

Health costs pushed more than half a bn people into or further into extreme poverty in 2021, according to two reports released by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank yesterday to mark Universal Health Coverage Day. Healthcare provision for poorer families globally was already dire before the pandemic, according to the two reports, and may get yet worse next year as governments deal with tighter budgets and incomes fall.

In other bad health news: Immunization rates fell for the first time in ten years last year, while deaths from malaria and TB increased, according to the reports.