Garment workers in Bangladesh have taken to the streets over the past week, demanding higher wages and forcing more than 600 factories to shut down nationwide. Protests escalated on Sunday in the capital, Dhaka, after police fired tear gas at demonstrators. The industry generates more than $40 billion for Bangladesh per year, about 10% of its GDP, but workers say they aren’t seeing any of that money. They are demanding that the national minimum monthly wage be raised from 13,000 taka ($105), among the lowest in the world, to 30,000 taka ($242). Recently-elected PM Tarique Rahman has scrambled to contain the unrest, announcing a new wage board to review workers’ demands. Worker strikes could have a global impact: Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest garment exporter after China, supplying about 7% of garments worldwide, including to major brands like H&M, Primark, and Uniqlo.
US President Donald Trumpsaid this morning that the US would halt $4 billion in annual aid to Israel by the end of this year. During an interview with Fox News, the president said Israel is prosperous enough to fund its own defense, but added that commercial arms sales will continue. It’s unclear how Washington will end the assistance early, given the aid agreement expires in 2028. But Trump appears more concerned with politics than logistics: he argued Israel had become too much of a talking point for Democratic candidates like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, who is currently polling ahead of his Republican opponent. As we reported yesterday, Israel has become a defining issue for Democrats as public opinion sours on the country. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement, but told the Economist in January that he wanted to “taper off” US military aid in the next decade.
Starting today, Mexico will ban phones in elementary and middle schools. The restrictions, championed by President Claudia Sheinbaum, aim to improve students’ focus and learning outcomes. But critics warn the new policy could put children at risk. In parts of the country plagued by cartel violence, parents worry that the ban could prevent them from contacting their children during emergencies or checking that they're safe. In the first half of this year, nearly 10% of Mexicans under the age of 18 were victims of some form of organized crime. Mexico is hardly alone: 114 other countries have already imposed nationwide cellphone bans in schools.
As AI creates new opportunities, the people who understand a community best play an important role in determining how those opportunities take shape. Across the US, Microsoft is supporting AI literacy classes as part of a new program developed in collaboration with the Public Library Association, working through trusted local institutions to help people build practical AI skills. By pairing new technology with local knowledge, the initiative is helping communities explore how AI can support their needs and open new possibilities, while putting local leaders and organizations at the center of that work. Read the full story here.
Russia is testing NATO’s red lines with escalating drone attacks and airspace violations. Can Europe defend Ukraine and itself without help from the US? Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
Who among us has not gotten stiffed by a superpower. #PUPPETREGIME
Is Putin's war machine starting to crack? Poland's foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski discusses Ukraine's battlefield gains and mounting economic pressure on Russia.