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Members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) hold a flag in the divided city of Deir al-Zor, Syria December 7, 2024.
Hard Numbers: Syria reaches pact with Kurdish fighters, Sudanese militia leader guilty of war crimes, emerging markets surge anew, luxury travel booms
¼: The new Syrian government has signed a ceasefire with US-backed Kurdish fighters who control roughly a quarter of Syria’s territory, in a pact that could smooth the re-integration of Kurdish areas into the Syrian state. Recent clashes had upended earlier agreements to absorb Kurdish militias into the new Syrian army.
27: The international criminal court has found a leader of Sudan’s feared janjaweed militia guilty on 27 counts of atrocities committed during the Darfur genocide in the early 2000s. The charges included gang rape of women and children, torture, and summary executions. The court rejected the defendant’s arguments that it had captured the wrong man.
15: Stocks of companies in “emerging markets” – a grouping of the world’s leading middle-income countries – have seen their biggest gains in more than 15 years. The main reason? A weaker US dollar has made it easier for companies in these countries to service dollar-denominated debt. At the same time, many of these economies are keeping interest rates high, attracting more foreign capital, particularly as political uncertainty roils developed markets like the US and Europe.
390 billion: The rich keep getting richer… and then they go on holiday. Global spending on high end luxury travel will surpass $390 billion by 2028, according to McKinsey, up from $240 billion in 2023. Experts say the increasing availability of luxury goods has made them less interesting to the ultra-rich, who now flaunt their 1-percentness by seeking out stratospherically expensive and unique luxury experiences.
A car burns after the destruction of Mariupol children's hospital as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 9, 2022 in this still image from a handout video obtained by Reuters.
Is rogue Russia using banned weapons and tactics?
The US State Department accused Russia on Thursday of using a chemical weapon called chloropicrin against Ukrainian soldiers. If true, the use of this choking agent would violate the Chemical Weapons Convention, an international agreement that Russia has signed. Chloropicrin, widely used in World War I, is an oily substance that irritates the lungs, eyes, skin, and digestive system. The US says Russia is using it to force Ukrainian soldiers out of their trenches along the frontlines. The Kremlin’s chief spokesman has denied the charge.
There are also reports this week that Russia has disrupted the Global Positioning System, leaving aircraft, including commercial planes, unable to receive GPS signals in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and eastern Mediterranean regions. These disruptions take the form of either jamming signals or “spoofing,” in which legitimate signals are replaced with fake ones.
Though these disruptions are more nuisance than danger, there is a risk to flights when pilots have to improvise navigation. If Russia is responsible, it’s not clear whether its motive is tied directly to the war in Ukraine or is part of a larger effort to disrupt European life and commerce.
In both cases, Western policymakers and experts warn that Russia is increasingly fighting its war outside established rules. In neither case is it clear what accusers can do about it.