19 March 2023

Weekly Newsletter

Military & Armed Conflict

Turkey's Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan approved Finland's bid to join NATO,Australia, the US, and the UK unveiled a major nuclear submarine deal,a report said that France is set to become the world's second biggest arms exporter,10 drums of uranium ore were reportedly recovered after going missing from a Libyan site,North Korea fired two missiles in its second test in three days,and Iran agreed to stop arming Houthis in Yemen.Meanwhile,at least 22 civilians were reportedly killed in an alleged massacre at a Myanmar monastery.

Russia-Ukraine

Following reports on Monday that the International Criminal Court is preparing two war crime cases against Russia,the Hague-based organization issued an arrest warrant for Pres. Vladimir Putin on Friday, accusing him of illegally deporting children from Ukraine -a move welcomed by US Pres. Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy.On Tuesday, Russia's ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, was summoned to a meeting with the State Department after a US surveillance drone crashed into the waters in the Black Sea.Footage released by the US European Command appeared to show a Russian fighter jet approaching and dumping fuel on the drone, resulting in its downing.On Thursday, Poland agreed to provide Ukraine with fighter jets, followed by Slovakia the next day - the first two NATO countries to offer the long-sought-after aircraft.Meanwhile, as Saturday marked nine years since Russia annexed Crimea, Putin visited the peninsula's largest city of Sevastopol, and Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Ministry called on Russia to withdraw from all Ukrainian territories.

World Politics

South Korea and Japan renewed ties at a summit in Tokyo,Honduras Pres. Xiomara Castro announced plans to establish diplomatic relations with China,a report claimed that China plans to host a high-level Gulf Cooperation Council and Iran summit,US Pres. Joe Biden met with Irish PM Leo Varadkar to discuss the recent UK-EU post-Brexit trade deal,US Sec. of State Antony Blinken made a historic trip to Niger,and Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Assad met with Putin.Meanwhile, French Pres. Emmanuel Macron overrode parliament and passed his planned pension reforms,the UK updated its foreign policy and security framework,and banned the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok from government phones,and the US threatened to ban TikTok if ByteDance doesn’t sell its stake in the app.Elsewhere, clashes broke out in Pakistan over arrest warrants issued for ex-PM Imran Khan - which were later canceled -Israel's Knesset passed the first reading of a bill for judicial reform,and the Netherlands' Farmer-Citizen Movement won a big victory in the provincial elections.

US Politics

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced plans to "slowly roll out" security footage from the Jan. 6 riots,the House Oversight Committee began reviewing "suspicious activity reports" related to the Biden family,House Democrats said that Trump and his family failed to report over 100 gifts during his presidency,two US senators proposed a law to track high-altitude balloons,and Biden signed an executive order to increase background checks for gun buyers.

Crime & Justice

A UN report said that global cocaine production has reached a record high,the FBI found that US hate crimes increased by nearly 12% in 2021,the US charged Chinese businessman Guo Wengui with fraud,and Lebanon’s central bank chief was questioned over his alleged suspicious financial transfers abroad.Meanwhile, according to the Israeli army, a bomber suspected of coming from Lebanon was killed.

Civil Liberties

A Texas judge heard arguments on whether the abortion pill should be banned in the US,a delegation of officials from Myanmar visited a Bangladesh refugee camp for a pilot repatriation project,the US released one-third of electronic devices detained under the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act,the UN commemorated the first-ever International Day to Combat Islamophobia,and Mexico announced plans to investigate the military over allegations of espionage.

Money & Economy

In the wake of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse, US regulators announced plans to back all of its deposits,the Swiss National Bank said it would provide liquidity to Credit Suisse as its shares plummetted,First Republic Bank secured $30B in deposits from 11 banks,and the Lebanese pound plunged to 100K against the US dollar.Meanwhile, a report estimated that extreme poverty could be eradicated by 2050,the UK unveiled its budget for 2023,Saudi Aramco recorded a historic $161B profit in 2022,and 19 US GOP governors announced their opposition to ESG - Environmental, Social, and Governance - investing.

Health

A US report found that the maternal mortality rate reached its highest level since 1965 in 2021,Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk announced plans to cut its US insulin prices,independent advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration backed the full approval of the COVID treatment Paxlovid,a group of researchers said they found genetic data potentially linking COVID to the sale of raccoon dogs at a Wuhan market,and China re-opened its borders to tourists for the first time in three years.

Weather & Environment

The Biden admin. approved an oil and gas drilling project in Alaska,440k gallons of radioactive water leaked from a Minnesota nuclear plant,member states of the EU agreed to curb pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from livestock,and a survey found that Pakistan's Lahore is the world's most polluted city.Meanwhile, Cyclone Freddy killed and injured hundreds in Malawi and Mozambique,and California eased some water restrictions following its recent storms.

Sports

FIFA confirmed an expanded 2026 World Cup.

Business

A California court upheld a law that recognizes app-based drivers as contractors,and OpenAI announced the release of its latest AI language model GPT-4.

Accidents

A Colombian mine explosion killed at least 21.

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