Americais also sending 31Abrams tanks. President Joe Biden announced a $400m package that includes eightM88 recovery vehicles, which can tow the Abrams.
Production has roughly doubled from the previous year, whenthe militaryjuntaseized power, to nearly 795 tonnes in 2022.
Myanmar’s civil war and covid pandemic have put itsfrail economyin a tailspin.
Some old-fashionedpolitickingis under way at the lavish waterfront Waldorf Astoria hotel in Dana Point, California.
Ms McDaniel will probably win. But the contest hasemboldenedherdetractors.
Mike Lindell, a conspiracy theory-oriented businessman who is also running, has counted the “failures” of her leadership: the 2018 midterm elections, when Republicans lost the House of Representatives; the 2020 presidential election; the2022 midterms; and tworun-offSenate races.
Germany’sdefence minister, Boris Pistorius, said that the 14Leopard tanksit has promised toUkrainewill arrive in “late March, early April”.Americais also sending 31Abrams tanks. President Joe Biden announced a $400m package that includes eight M88 recovery vehicles, which can tow the Abrams. Germany’smove—taken after much dithering—allows Poland and other countries to export their German-made Leopards. Ukraine is now hoping the West gives it fighter jets, but Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, insisted that there is no chance of that happening. Meanwhile, Russia launched a mass air raid on Ukraine during the morning rush hour.
America’s economyslowed slightly to an annual growth rate of 2.9% in the fourth quarter of 2022, down from 3.2% in the third quarter, according to early figures from the US Commerce Department. The world’s biggest economy beat market expectations despite rising interest rates eroding business activity—but arecessionin the second half of the year still looks likely.
Sayfullo Saipov, an Islamist extremist whokilledeight people driving a truck on aManhattanbike path in 2017, was convicted of 28 federal charges. He could face thedeath penalty, a rare consideration in New York. America’s attorney-general issued amoratoriumon federal executions, but allowed prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case.
Russiaoutlawed one of the largest independent Russian-language news websites,Meduza, as part of the government’s media crackdown. Prosecutors said the site, which has been critical of the war in Ukraine, was “undesirable” and a threat to the country’s security. Meduza was establishedin Latviain 2014; it was blocked by Russia in March but continued to post on Telegram, where it has more than 1.2m subscribers.
Israeli troopskilled ninePalestiniansand wounded multiple others during amilitary raidon Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian health officials. Israeli forces said they were targeting Islamic militants plotting “major” attacks. It is the deadliest such single incident in years. Over 170 Palestinians were killed in raids in 2022, as part of what Israel calls an anti-terrorism offensive.
Francerecalled its ambassador toBurkina Fasoa day after agreeing to withdraw troops from the country. 400 French troops were fighting an ongoingIslamist insurgency, but Burkina Faso’s government says it wants to defend itself. France has also fallen out with other African allies—after more than nine years in 2022 itssoldiers left neighbouring Maliwithout having completed their mission.
Opium production inMyanmarjumped to a nine-year high, reversing a downward trend, according to the UN. Production has roughly doubled from the previous year, whenthe military juntaseized power, to nearly 795 tonnes in 2022. Opium poppy cultivation increased by a third, while the potential yield rose by 88%. Myanmar’s civil war and covid pandemic have put itsfrail economyin a tailspin.
Fact of the day:775,014, the number of cars that emerged from British factories in 2022, the worst year since 1956.Read the full story.
Disney marks its centenary
PHOTO: AP
The happiest place on earth will be even jollier on Friday, as celebrations begin at Disneyland for the company’s100th birthday. Disney’s first century has been a triumph: today the studio rules the worldwide box office, it has more streaming subscriptions than any of its competitors, and its theme parks are once again bustling now lockdowns have been lifted.
But its boardroom is less cheery. Fewer people watch films in the cinema and cable-TV, Disney’s main source of profit, is being replaced by streaming. Plus, despite all those subscribers to its streaming service, Disney is losing more than $1bn a quarter. In November the company fired its chief executive. His replacement,Bob Iger, now faces a challenge from Nelson Peltz, an activist investor who wants a board seat. Mr Iger, who previously ran Disney from 2005 to 2020, has been given two years to steady the ship and find a successor. Disney’s second century is starting with a bumpy ride.
A Modi documentary reverberates in India
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
In recent days India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its leader Narendra Modi have provided a textbook example of theStreisand effect. That occurs when attempts to suppress something—in this case a controversial documentary—draw more attention to it. When “The Modi Question”, a BBC production, aired last week, the BJP immediately dismissed it as a “propaganda piece” for its account of the riots that killed more than 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, in Gujarat when Mr Modi was the state’s chief minister in 2002. TheHindu nationalist partythen invoked an emergency law to ban the video on the internet.
Twitter and YouTube have complied by taking down videos, but clips continue to proliferate on social-media channels. Activists and students have planned more screenings, even though some have been arrested. Media watchdogs have condemned the BJP’s heavy-handed response, which raises more questions about the commitment to democracy of the party and its leader.
The race for the Republican Party executive
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Some old-fashioned politicking is under way at the lavish waterfront Waldorf Astoria hotel in Dana Point, California. On Friday the Republican National Committee will choose its chair, who is responsible for fundraising and party messaging. For the first time since 2013, the race is contested. The incumbent of three two-year terms, Ronna McDaniel, is facing a stiff challenge from Harmeet Dhillon, a conservative lawyer.
Ms McDaniel will probably win. But the contest has emboldened her detractors. Mike Lindell, a conspiracy theory-oriented businessman who is also running, has counted the “failures” of her leadership: the 2018 midterm elections, when Republicans lost the House of Representatives; the 2020 presidential election; the2022 midterms; and tworun-offSenate races. Ms McDaniel’sties to Donald Trumphave alienated Never-Trumpers, while more insurgent types are calling for an organisational overhaul. But at a moment when the word “Republican” frequently precedes “division”, her message—of “unity and certainty”—may prove sufficient to get her over the line.
Fighting femicides in Spain
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
On Friday Spanish government officials will meet domestic-violence experts to discuss a worrying increase infemicides—murders of women because of their sex. There have been six in January, as well as the killing of an eight-year-old girl, following 11 in December. (Since records began in 2003, the annual average has been 59.) The government is reportedly considering allowing authorities to inform abused women if their partners have previous convictions for violent crimes.
The country has made strides to protect women since 2016, when a court ruled that a woman’s lack of physical resistance to the five men who raped her meant that the crime was not violent and therefore merely “sexual abuse” (the Supreme Court laterfound the menguilty of rape). In 2020 the country recorded proportionately fewer cases of femicide than several of its neighbours, including France and Germany. And unlike other countries, Spain counts any murder of a woman by a man, where gender is deemed to have played a role, as femicide.
The 1619 Project sparks more debate
PHOTO: HULU
The culture wars are coming to Hulu. In 2019, theNew York Timesmagazine released a controversial set of essays that put slavery and theblack American experienceat the centre of the country’s founding and development. The 1619 Project divided opinion: it won a Pulitzer prize for commentary in 2020 while being denounced by some historians for factual inaccuracies. Several school districts, such as Chicago, embraced it as a curriculum for pupils; elsewhere whole states, such as Florida, have banned it, favouring more traditional views of American history.
Now the controversy will be streamed in a six-part series produced by Oprah Winfrey and Nikole Hannah-Jones, the project’s creator, among others. Each episode adapts an essay from the collection to show how slavery impacts the present day. So far reviews have been mixed. Some praise it as innovative; others say it falls short of some more original documentaries about the black experience.
Germany confirmed that it will dispatch 14 of itsLeopard tankstoUkraine, following muchditheringand pressure from allies.
Americais similarly poised tosend its Abramstanks. Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to America, said giving tanks to Ukraine would be a “blatantprovocation”.
The lawsuit—thesecondfederal antitrust case brought against Google—seeks to force the firm todivestseveral ad products.
Shares inAdani Group, a multinational conglomerate thatunderpinsswathes of India’s economy, were hit by ascathingreportby Hindenburg Research, an investment firm.
Shareholders had objected to the proposal, arguing that amergerwouldmask the value ofNews Corp, which owns theWall Street Journaland TheTimes.
America may alsogrudginglybe sending about 30 of its M1 Abrams tanks, which could ease Mr Scholz’sangst.
The decision comes nota moment too soon.
The pity is that it took intense friendly fire, at home and abroad, torattleMr Scholz’scarapacehard enough to force him intoa clanking Panzerwende.
Despite growingdisillusionmentwith the government of Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, who has been in power since 2014, it is unlikely that protests similar to those in 2011 will break out soon. The cost of living is high, but the cost ofdissentremains higher.
An ally of Ms Ardern, Mr Hipkins is something ofa political utilityman.
Most recently minister of education and police, he has also served as health minister, from where he oversaw New Zealand’sstringentresponse to covid-19. Mr Hipkins was the only candidate for the premiership nominated by his Labour Party.
Outside party ranks, Mr Hipkins faces a bumpier ride. Labour is trailing the opposition National Party in polls as the cost of livingspirals.
He may alsoclaw backsupport by ditching unpopular reforms pushed by Ms Ardern, including an expensive merger between the national television and radio broadcasters.
Russia and thedowningof MH17
In November a Dutch court convictedtwo Russiansand a Ukrainian separatist (in absentia) for shooting down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, killing 298 mainly Dutch passengers and crew.
The case, brought by the Netherlands and Ukraine,hinges onwhether Russia exercised control over the forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR).