Events
Globally
MEMO: Russia does not object to another extension of grain deal, ‘but only for 60 days’
“Our further stance will be determined upon the tangible progress on normalisation of our agricultural exports, not in words, but in deeds,” Vershinin said. “It includes bank payments, transport logistics, insurance, ‘unfreezing’ of financial activities and ammonia supplies via the ‘Tolyatti-Odessa’ pipeline.”
Europe
TeleSUR: Russia’s Foreign Trade Grows by 8.1 Pct in 2022
RT: Russian conscription age to change
Currently, men aged 18 to 27 can be enlisted to serve in the Russian armed forces, or in civilian roles, in the case of conscientious objectors and others who refuse military service. The bill sponsored on Monday by a group of lawmakers led by Andrey Kartapolov, chair of the State Duma defense committee, would move the bracket up over several years, reaching 21 to 30 in 2026.
TeleSUR: Arms Imports to Europe Surge Despite Global Decline
On Monday, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) published its latest report of global arms sales, which shows that European states' imports of major arms over the five years between 2018 and 2022 increased by 47 percent compared with that of the 2013-2017 period, while the global arms transfers decreased by 5.1 percent.
WSWS: Junior doctors stage first day of 72-hour strike action across England
RT: Russian oil supplies to Germany shrink 99.9%
The Destatis report only counts direct purchases of Russian oil, and excludes crude of Russian origin purchased indirectly from global traders through ship-to-ship transfers. The Economy Ministry in Berlin acknowledged in February that some mixing of Kazakh and Russian crude was unavoidable as it transits through Russian territory to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline.
Jacobin: Norway’s Treatment of Sámi Indigenous People Makes a Mockery of Its Progressive Image
Norway often presents itself as a defender of human rights around the globe. Yet its treatment of indigenous people within its own borders tells a quite different story, as the Sámi population struggles to defend its way of life.
East Asia and Oceania
People’s Daily: How Tokyo Electric Power colluded with Japanese govt to push a plan to dump nuclear-contaminated wastewater?
TeleSUR: Philippines: Oil Spill Leaves 100 000 People Affected, 122 Sick
Climate Change News: Vietnam’s energy transition deal is a ‘black box’, partner warns
A government partner in a $15.5 billion deal to help Vietnam move away from coal has described the package as a “black box”.
WSWS: US-South Korea staging largest joint military drills in five years
WSWS: 50,000 New Zealand teachers prepare for nationwide strike against pay cuts
Central Asia and the Middle East
MEE: Turkey: Leftist leader says Erdogan ‘should be put on trial’ for earthquake response
Ertugrul Kurkcu, honorary president of the left-wing pro-Kurdish HDP, Turkey’s third largest party, said the government had “watched the earthquake kill the people”. “I believe that in a democratic country, Erdogan should be put on trial for the deaths of tens of thousands of people," he told MEE.
The veteran socialist activist, who spent 14 years in prison in the 70s and 80s, was speaking on Monday morning as over 50 politicians and intellectuals from 22 countries, including former British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and American philosopher Noam Chomsky, called on Erdogan to “end the legal attacks” against the HDP.
MEMO: Israel releases oldest Palestinian prisoner after 17 years in jail
MEE: Saudi Arabia executes Jordanian man despite UK and UN intervention
People’s Daily: Iran, Belarus ink deals to boost comprehensive cooperation
MEE: Qatar ranks as top arms importer despite surge in weapons going to Ukraine
Qatar, a gas-rich country of just three million people, holds the top spot as the world’s biggest arms importer as of last year. Shipments of weapons to the country increased by 311 percent between 2013-17 and 2018-22.
Africa
Africa News: Vice-President Kamala Harris to visit Africa in latest U.S. outreach
Harris' plans follow visits by first lady Jill Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is going this week, and President Joe Biden is expected to travel to Africa later this year.
MEMO: Egypt constructs ‘largest man-made river in world’
Egypt is building the New Delta Project, which will include the largest man-made river in the world to deliver water needed to cultivate almost 9,200 square kilometres of land in the Western Desert.
The project includes around 22 kilometres of underground pipes which will transport groundwater, agricultural drainage and surface water after being treated at Al-Hamam Water Station. The river’s open path extends for 92 kilometres, and 35 per cent of the construction work for the water transmission pipes has been completed, as has 65 per cent of the open area work.
Africa News: Malawi declares state-of-disaster after cyclone’s deadly return
Africa News: Ethiopia: Rebuilding schools, hospitals top priority in Tigray, charity group says
Africa News: Award-winning Ethiopian journalist sounds the alarm over press freedom
An Ethiopian journalist who received an award at the White House in the United States last week, has sounded the alarm over press freedom in her country.
North America
Common Dreams: US Increases Dominance as World’s Top Arms Exporter
A Sweden-based research institute published a report Monday showing that the United States accounted for 40% of the world’s weapons exports in the years 2018-22, selling armaments to more than 100 countries while increasing its dominance of the global arms trade.
Jacobin: Before Silicon Valley Bank’s Collapse, Its Lobbyists Fought Regulations in Congress
RT: Cryptocurrencies rally amid US banking crisis
The largest digital asset, Bitcoin, has jumped more than 18% in the past 24 hours to its highest level in over a week. The crypto was trading at $24,385 per token as of 15:30 GMT.
This is great for bitcoin!
RT: Biden sides with oil over climate activists
President Joe Biden’s administration has approved an $8 billion oil development in the Alaskan Arctic, three days after denying that a decision had been made. The move clears the way for a drilling project decried by climate activists as an “environmental injustice.”
WSWS: California ends mask requirement for health care workers in health facilities
Common Dreams: ‘Economic Crime’: Cost of Canada’s Trans Mountain Pipeline Soars by Billions, Again
TeleSUR: Mexican President Dismisses US Travel Advisories
“Mexico is safer than the United States,” Lopez Obrador told reporters at his daily press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City.
“There is no problem whatsoever for traveling safely through Mexico,” he added.
South America
TeleSUR: Colombian President Marks Position Regarding the Mining Strike
Petro said he is not against small-scale mining but rather against the large illegal mining mafias that are pillaging the territory. For this reason, he invited the Indigenous and artisanal miners to meet him at the government’s headquarters, after the situation returns to normal.
TeleSUR: Peru Gets Ready for the Effects of Cyclone Yaku
TeleSUR: Brazil: 130 Arrested in January Coup Plot Released
The measure involves the surveillance with electronic anklets of those released. Night house arrest, prohibition to use social networks or to drive are some of the restrictions they must comply with.
The War Against The West
RT: Taiwan braces for ‘total blockade’ – media
Gray Zone: Former US natsec advisor: destroy Taiwan semiconductor factories if China invades
Oh no! How could China possibly ever recover from that? Thank god this wouldn’t catastrophically damage the West!
RT: China reacts to Australia’s nuclear plans
“The nuclear submarine cooperation plan… is a blatant act that constitutes serious nuclear proliferation risks, undermines international non-proliferation system, fuels arms races, and hurts peace and stability in the region,” China’s mission to the United Nations said in a series of tweets on Tuesday morning.
RT: Doubts in Ukraine about readiness for new offensive – Washington Post
Kiev’s forces have been so “degraded” by a year of fighting against Russia that some Ukrainian officials doubt their ability to execute a planned spring offensive, the Washington Post has reported.
The conflict has taken many of the most seasoned Ukrainian troops, with the arrival of inexperienced draftees changing the profile of the country’s military, the US paper pointed out on Monday.
Analysis
Retrospectives, History, Theory, and Technology
WSWS: The bailout of Silicon Valley Bank and the historic crisis of capitalism
Monthly Review: Review: Enrique S Rivera – “The Untold Story of Capitalism: Primitive Accumulation and the Anti-Slavery Revolution”
Michael Roberts: Monetary tightening, inflation and bank failures
Inside the Imperial Core
AntiWar: Israel and Its US Lobby Dealt Major Blow by China-Saudi-Iran Peace Initiative
Jacobin: How Transphobic Moral Panics Fuel Authoritarian Politics
The horrific murder of Brianna Ghey has put transphobia in Britain’s news headlines yet again, with police currently investigating it as a potential hate crime. Brianna, sixteen, who was fatally stabbed by two teenagers in a park, had become known on TikTok and spoken of being bullied at school because of her trans identity. Her murder led to over fifty vigils across the country, with thousands attending.
Violence targeting trans people is unfortunately not rare. In 2022, Vice reported that “the number of homophobic hate crime reports in the UK has doubled and the number of transphobic hate crime reports has tripled over the last five years”.
It is essential to see such extreme actions as part of a broader discursive environment — one that links together mainstream, far-right, and extreme-right actors. The disproportionate and generally negative focus against trans people across the media spectrum has been well documented. In a 2020 report, the Independent Press Standards Organisation in the UK noted that there had been a 400 percent increase in coverage of “trans issues” between 2014 and 2019. Many mainstream public actors have also used their huge platforms to push anti-trans narratives into the mainstream, emboldening extreme-right activists.
Climate Change
Climate Change News: Mafalda Duarte named as next chief of UN climate fund