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Two horses on the loose bolt through the streets of London near Aldwych on Wednesday, April 24, 2024.
5: Talk about a rough commute … Five military horsesescaped their handlers and galloped through London in a slightly terrifying rush hour spectacle, injuring several people and narrowly dodging crowds of innocent bystanders. Before being recaptured by handlers, the horses gallivanted through the center of town for two hours, traversing roughly six miles. Theimpact of Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” era should never be underestimated.
200 million: Germany plans to resume funding UNRWA – the UN’s main aid organization for Palestine — which it funded with over $200 million in 2023. The move follows the conclusion of an independent review stating Israel did not provide enough evidence of allegations of widespread UNRWA infiltration by terrorist militants that initially caused the suspension. More than a dozen countries paused funding as a result of Israel’s accusations. Germany will be joining Canada, Australia, and Sweden in resuming funding. Other major donors like the US and UK remain on pause.
100,000: Students are protesting nationwide in Argentina, and in a much bigger way than antiwarprotesters on US campuses. Police say 100,000 students and supporters (organizers say closer to half a million) took to the streets of Buenos Aires aloneon Tuesday in defense of free public universities. Annual inflation in Argentina is approaching 290%, and budget cuts are putting public universities in jeopardy.
7: Seven Australian teenagers werearrested Wednesday following a knife attack earlier this month that injured an Assyrian Orthodox bishop and priest at a Sydney church. Police said the suspects were motivated by religious and “violent extremist ideology.” Video of the attack was shared widely before Australian courts banned it from major social media platforms. Unsurprisingly, Twitter/X owner (and self-appointed free speech czar) Elon Musk wasnot too pleased about the order.
38: Geopolitical tensions — including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza — are puffing up commodity prices, which are currently still 38% higher than pre-COVID averages, according to a new report by the World Bank. That’s keeping inflation from falling — and that’s the benign scenario, where global crises don’t get any worse. If they do, the Bank warns, oil prices could surge above $100 per barrel, driving up global inflation by another full percentage point.
African elephants drinking at waterhole in Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana.
Let’s talk about the elephant(s) in the room — all 20,000 — that Botswana’s leader is publicly threatening to unleash on German soil. President Mokgweetsi Masisi issued this warning after Berlin’s environment ministry, in the name of conservation, weighed a ban on hunting trophy imports from Africa: “If you like [elephants] so much, then please accept this gift from us.”
Masisi’s side: Botswana is home to over 130,000 elephants, more than any other country in the world. Herds can cause property damage, eat crops, and even trample residents, and Masisi says hunting is necessary to control the exploding population. Banning the trophies would also contribute to poverty, he said, as hunting can be an important source of income for rural communities.
Germany’s side: Animal rights groups argue that hunting elephants is cruel and should be banned, regardless of population size. A PETA spokesperson went so far as to say that hunting is merely “a hobby of rich, jaded people who have more money than morals.” Plus, the German Association for Animal Welfare insists that hunts exacerbate societal inequalities in communities instead of diminishing them.
What’s next: While Masisi assured that this “is not a joke,” German officials say Gaborone has “not yet contacted” them to discuss sending Dumbos to Deutschland.
FILE PHOTO: Thai LGBT community participates in Gay Freedom Day Parade in Bangkok, Thailand November 29, 2018.
Thailand’s House of Representatives approved a bill aiming to secure legal recognition of same-sex marriages, a historic first in Southeast Asia. It passed with overwhelming support: 400 votes in favor and 10 against. The bill will ensure all couples equal rights under the law in key areas like marital tax savings, property inheritance, medical rights, and child adoption.
Thailand is known for being one of the few safe havens for the LGBTQ+ community on a continent with historically restrictive laws. Thai law lagged public opinion, with polls showing as many as 96.6% of respondents supporting same-sex marriage legalization. The country is known internationally for its thriving, public social scene, as well as by many media watchers for their hugely popular queer “Boy Love (BL)” dramas and RuPaul’s Drag Race spinoff.
Thailand’s ruling Pheu Thai party capitalized on this gap between policy and public opinion. The opposition Move Forward Party – fueled by a progressive wave of young voters – campaigned on the issue during their most recent election cycle. Move Forward won the most seats in parliament but was shut out after Pheu Thai struck a deal with conservative and military-aligned parties.
Many assumed a continuation of the status quo was imminent. Voting on same-sex marriage legislation was a low-risk, high-reward move for Pheu Thai that would appease progressives angered by the sidelining of Move Forward and draw positive international attention without any pushback from their base.
The bill still requires approval from the Senate and an endorsement from the king. Thailand will then follow only Taiwan and Nepal (kind of) as countries that allow same-sex unions in Asia.Taoiseach Leo Varadkar leaves after speaking to the media at Government Buildings in Dublin, he has announced he is to step down as Taoiseach and as leader of his party, Fine Gael. Picture date: Wednesday March 20, 2024.
Leo Varadkar announced Wednesday that he will step down as Ireland’s Taoiseach, aka prime minister, after leading coalition governments twice – for five of the past seven years. When he came to power in 2017, he was Ireland’s youngest-ever and first openly gay Taoiseach, and the country’s first leader from an Indian background.
Echoing similar sentiments to other young leaders who have stepped down, likeSanna Marin andJacinda Ardern, the former physician cited both personal and political reasons for leaving office.
“One part of leadership is knowing when the time has come to pass on the baton to somebody else,” Varadkar said. “Politicians are human beings, and we have our limitations.”
During his political career, Varadkar pioneered some progressive policies in one of the most socially conservative countries in Europe. As minister of health, he advocated for the legalization of same-sex marriage ahead of the successful 2015 referendum, and while he was PM, Ireland repealed a strict abortion ban in 2018.
But recently, Varadkar’s government suffered an embarrassing defeat in two referendums aimed at modernizing the constitution’s definition of a family and the role of women at home. The largest referendum defeat in the country’s history is being blamed on lackluster, confusing messaging from Varadkar’s “yes” campaign and an energized coalition of dissatisfied “no” voters from across the political spectrum.
Varadkar’s resignation – which will not trigger a general election – will take place once his party chooses his replacement. But a general election must be held before March 2025, and his governing coalition is expected to suffer heavy losses against the nationalist Sinn Fein party.
For Varadkar, saying (a not-so-Irish) goodbye may be easier than facing the public once again.
SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket lifts off on its third launch from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight, near Brownsville, Texas, U.S. March 14, 2024.
2: Norway announced that the country intends to meet its NATO defense spending target of 2% this year — two years ahead of schedule — citing a “serious” security situation. Sweden, the alliance’s newest member, says it will do the same. The two Nordic states can now rest assured that at least Donald Trump would protect them from a Russian invasion.
49: A new analysis found the workday for members of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s parliament is 49 minutes shorter than the 1997-2023 average, clocking in at only seven hours and nine minutes long. With all that extra time on their hands, Kate Middleton should be found in no time.
99: This week, 99% of Somalia’s debt was canceled by the Paris Club — a group of officials from major creditor countries including the United States, Japan, and Russia. Somalia’s information minister, Daud Aweis, called the move a “big milestone in the country’s journey to financial recovery.”
150: The number of UNESCO heritage sites in Germany rose to 150, with six entities being added this week. Notably, an Intangible Cultural Heritage designation was given to Berlin’s techno scene for its contribution to German culture. Oonts Oonts.The US flag and TikTok logo are seen in this illustration taken June 2, 2023.
In a rare bipartisan vote of 352-65, the US House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that – if it survives the Senate — could force TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or be banned on all US devices.
Many see TikTok as a threat to America’s national security since Chinese law requires private-sector companies to answer to the Chinese Communist Party. Lawmakers worry that Beijing could weaponize Americans’ user data (browsing history, location, contacts, etc.) and use the almighty algorithm to influence elections and further divide an already polarized country.
TikTok has found a surprising ally in 2024 hopeful Donald Trump. The former president pulled a 180 on supporting the ban, saying it will benefit American-owned Facebook — which he called a “true enemy of the people” (note, he doesn’t own that one). Trump’s change of heart came days after a meeting with GOP megadonor Jeff Yass, who owns a 15% stake in ByteDance.
What’s next: Although President Joe Biden signaled he would sign the bill, Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer’s willingness to bring it to the Senate floor, and how everyone will vote, remains unclear.
What is clear: No one will come out of this fight unscathed. If TikTok gets banned, 170 million TikTok users (especially young people and Trump) will revolt. If everything stays the same, millions of Americans could remain vulnerable to foreign manipulation.FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden looks on before speaking during a roundtable discussion on public safety at the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 28, 2024.
President Joe Biden issued an executive order last week targeting entities that affect every web user, whether they realize it or not. The order empowers the Justice Department to stop companies called data brokers from collecting and selling Americans’ personal data to “countries of concern” like China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba.
What data brokers do: Compile massive amounts of sensitive user data (browsing history, biometric scans, geolocation) and sell it to advertisers. One study showed that Facebook took in personal data on a single user from 48,000 companies, a reflection of how the social media giant attempts to track down every detail of a potential consumer’s lifestyle and habits.
Why that’s dangerous: As AI improves, bad actors’ ability to sift through vast amounts of this data to track and pry into the personal lives of Americans — including service members and government officials — will also improve. The Biden administration is hoping to prevent “intrusive surveillance, scams, blackmail, and other violations of privacy.”
What’s missing: Concrete regulations, like Europe’s GDPR framework that requires explicit documentation on how all EU citizens' data is used and stored. Instead, the executive order empowers bureaucrats to start a complex and months long rule making process. We'll only know details about how the executive order will be enforced afterward.
When it comes to data, Americans are still living in the Wild Wild West. While this order aims to prevent privacy violations from some of America’s adversaries, there’s nothing stopping other countries, companies, and the federal government itself from doing the exact same thing.FILE PHOTO: U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) sits before a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. June 21, 2023.
The “most corroborating evidence” for impeaching President Joe Biden came from a highly credible, human source, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said in January. This week, a memo filed by the US Department of Justice claims that the source has “extensive foreign ties” with an all too familiar election meddler.
Veteran informant Alexander Smirnov claimed to be in touch with four different Russian intelligence officials as recently as December, two of which are “heads of the entities they represent.” Prosecutors say Smirnov aimed to spread misinformation and “lies that could impact US elections.”
After months of investigating, the House has been unable to uncover additional bombshell evidence against Biden. So, will a crack in the central argument driving the inquiry slow the impeachment efforts ahead of November’s election? Likely not. The president’s brother still had to testify yesterday, and his son is set to testify next week.
From the right: A House Judiciary Committee spokesperson says, “Nothing has changed. We have plenty of evidence that shows impeachable conduct.”
From the left: Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) says, “I hope it will be the final chapter of this ludicrous wild goose chase.”
From GZERO: Smirnov should steer clear of open windows.