The Justice Department yesterday chargedRaúl Castro, the younger brother of Fidel, with murder and a conspiracy to kill American citizens over a 1996 incident in which the Cuban military shot down two civilian planes belonging to Cuban exiles off the coast of the communist-run island. The indictment creates potential scope for the US to seize the 94-year-old from Cuba, akin to how Special Forces captured Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro. Why charge an ex-leader, though? It appears to be a pretext for military action, Cuba’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, told reporters on Wednesday. Indeed, the US placed an aircraft carrier in the southern Caribbean Sea on Wednesday. US President Donald Trump, perhaps seeking a much-needed foreign policy victory amid the chaos in Iran, may see the island as an easy target.
A district in central Dublin will elect a new member of parliament tomorrow, and one of the leading candidates is a renowned Irish crime boss. Gerry Hutch, a former stickup kid suspected of several high-profile bank robberies and under investigation for money laundering, is polling third behind the left-wing Sinn Féin and Social Democrat parties, but ahead of Ireland’s traditional parties. His plainspoken populist campaign has captured the frustrations of an Ireland experiencing severe housing shortages and rising prices even amid an economic boom driven by the tech and pharmaceutical industries. He wants to scrap the income tax for young people, tighten immigration, and use incentives to lure expat Irish professionals and tradespeople back home. Hutch won’t win, but the success of his candidacy is a wake-up call of its own for Ireland’s political class.
As theEbola outbreak surpasses 600 cases and 130 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, it has started to disrupt some geopolitical events. India and the African Union postponed an upcomingsummit scheduled for next week in New Delhi, which would have been the first meeting between the two in 11 years. Ironically, their last gathering in October 2015 was also delayed by a year because of the 2014 Ebola crisis, whichkilled over 10,000 people. While the World Health Organization does not expect Ebola to become aglobal pandemic, it is warning that vaccines for therare strains of Ebola causing this outbreak could take overnine months to develop.
The DRC’s soccer team also moved its training camp and fan events from its capital, Kinshasa, ahead of its first World Cup appearance since 1974, opting to train in Belgium before traveling to the US for its match against Portugal.
The surge first began when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed a coalition with far-right leaders Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, and accelerated after the attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, by the Gaza-based militant group Hamas.
Global humanitarian needs are rising sharply – right as the systems designed to respond to them are facing the deepest funding cuts in years. At a recent UN event focused on the wellness of aid workers, GZERO’s Tony Maciulis spoke to experts, including Rajabi and Michel Saad, a deputy director at the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, who leads efforts in the Middle East and North Africa.
Rising fuel costs, tariff pressures, and slowing payroll growth are reshaping how small businesses operate. As uncertainty builds, many businesses are prioritizing flexibility over expansion. Explore how business owners are navigating complex economic moments. Subscribe to Bank of America Institute to learn how small businesses are staying agile.