Hard Numbers: Spain’s femicide problem, US arms Taiwan, Exxon vs. Brussels, racism in South Africa, Aung San Suu Kyi's sentence
9: The Spanish government has vowed to increase protection for female victims of domestic violence after nine women were killed by their partners in December, the deadliest month this year. This comes after a pregnant woman was stabbed by her ex-partner this week in Toledo, resulting in the death of both mother and baby.
180 million: The Pentagon on Wednesday approved the sale of vehicle-launched anti-tank missile systems to Taiwan worth $180 million. This comes days after Beijing sent 71 warplanes and seven ships toward Taiwan in a 24-hour period, marking the largest show of force by Beijing in the Taiwan Strait in months.
2 billion: US oil giant ExxonMobil is suing the European Union after Brussels announced in the fall that it would introduce a windfall tax on oil and gas companies, saying they should pay a "crisis contribution" on their 2022 profits. Exxon claims the tax will cost the company $2 billion through 2023 and will discourage investment.
3: Three white South African men have been charged – one with attempted murder and two with assault – after a video circulated on social media of them apparently abusing Black teenagers at a vacation spot in the Free State province. For many, the brazen beatings were reminiscent of the sort of attacks that pervaded apartheid-era South Africa.
7: Myanmar’s military court has sentenced the former democratically elected leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to a further seven years in prison, bringing her total sentence to 33 years. Since the military seized power in a coup in Feb. 2021, Suu Kyi has been charged with a host of sham offenses, including importing walkie-talkies and breaking COVID rules. The sentence includes several years of hard labor.