Putin

March 1, 2022

Putin’s Russia: dreams of a normal country dashed

When Russians went to the polls in March 2000, they had high hopes for democracy and stability, writes Geoff Kitney. They had chosen a new course under a new young leader. Twenty-one…

South Korea’s Constitutional Court rules to oust impeached president Yoon
South Korea's Constitutional Court on Friday upheld President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment over his disastrous martial law declaration, voting unanimously to strip him of office for violating the constitution. Yoon, 64, was suspended by lawmakers over his December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament. He was also arrested on insurrection charges as part of a separate criminal case. His removal triggers fresh presidential elections, which must be held within 60 days. "Given the serious negative impact and far-reaching consequences of the respondent's constitutional violations … (We) dismiss respondent President Yoon Suk Yeol," said acting court President Moon Hyung-bae. The decision was unanimous by all eight of the court's judges, who have been given additional security protection by police with tensions high and pro-Yoon supporters rallying in the streets. France 24, April 4

Billionaires lost $208bn yesterday as stocks plunged
The world’s 500 richest people saw their combined wealth plunge by $208bn yesterday, according to Bloomberg calculations. The drop is the fourth-largest one-day decline in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index’s 13-year history, and the largest since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The bosses of some of the largest US tech firms saw billions wiped off their wealth. Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg was the biggest loser in dollar terms, with the social media company’s 9 per cent slide costing its chief executive $17.9bn, Bloomberg reports. Jeff Bezos lost $15.9bn in personal wealth, as Amazon shares plunged 9 per cent yesterday. Elon Musk lost $11bn, taking his losses so far this year to $110bn. The Guardian, April 4

Volkswagen to add ‘import fee’ to US prices
Volkswagen is planning to add an “import fee” on vehicles shipped into the United States in response to President Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs. The German carmaker has also temporarily halted rail deliveries of vehicles from Mexico and will hold at port cars arriving by ship from Europe, according to a memo seen by The Wall Street Journal. Volkswagen has told dealers that it would give more details by mid-April on pricing strategies for tariff-affected cars, and plans to begin allocating those vehicles to showrooms by the end of the month. Trump’s 25 per cent auto tariffs will affect more than $460 billion worth of imported vehicles and car parts annually, according to an analysis of tariff codes included in a federal register notice. Germany exports more cars and parts to the US than any other country in the European Union. “We want to be very transparent about navigating through this time of uncertainty,” Volkswagen said in a statement to the newspaper. The Times, April 3

Cross-Channel rail owner to offer incentives for new operators
The owner of the high-speed rail line from London to the Channel Tunnel has offered a price cut to encourage the launch of more international rail services to and from its London St Pancras terminus. London St Pancras Highspeed unveiled several financial incentives on Friday available to any operator that launches rail services between London and mainland Europe. Several groups in recent months have announced plans to launch services between London and the continent. Eurostar, the only existing operator, has had a monopoly on the services, which mostly link London to Paris and Brussels, since international passenger services started in 1994. LSPH, formerly known as HS1, said the discounts would be available either to new entrants or to Eurostar if it launched new services. Robert Sinclair, LSPH chief executive, said: “Never before in the history of high-speed rail in the UK have we seen this much interest in growth, and the potential for competition.” Financial Times, April 4

Ship owner takes legal action over North Sea crash
The owners of a container ship have filed a legal claim against the owners of a tanker that it struck in a crash in the North Sea. The Stena Immaculate, a US-registered tanker carrying aviation fuel, was anchored 16 miles (26km) off East Yorkshire when it was hit by the Portuguese-flagged Solong on 10 March. Court records indicate that a legal claim was filed at the Admiralty Court on Thursday by "the owners and demise charterers" of the Solong against "the owners and demise charterers" of the Stena Immaculate. It follows a separate legal claim filed against the owners of the Solong - Ernst Russ - on Monday by the co-owners of the Stena Immaculate, Stena Bulk and Crowley. No further details about either claim are currently available, with Stena Bulk having been approached for comment. BBC news, April 4

Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Lost Albums’
Fans have long known that Bruce Springsteen withheld songs throughout his career. Now, he is opening his vault. Springsteen announced yesterday that he would release “Tracks II: The Lost Albums” in June. Of the 83 songs featured on these seven albums, 74 have never been released in any form. Among them are working tapes from Springsteen’s fruitful period before “Born in the USA.” and a hip-hop-influenced album from the early 1990s. New York Times, April 4

Trump imposes sweeping tariffs on imports
In a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden, President Trump unveiled his most expansive tariffs to date yesterday, including tariffs of at least 10 per cent on all trading partners except Canada and Mexico, with duties stretching past 20 per cent, 30 per cent and even beyond for some nations. He framed his policies as a response to a national emergency, saying that tariffs were needed to build up domestic production. Wall Street shuddered in response, with early market reaction pointing to a further slide in the stock market and a weakening dollar. European officials are poised to respond with countermeasures. Although the EU has so far concentrated on imposing higher tariffs on a wide variety of goods, officials have discussed placing penalties like tariffs or market access restrictions on US technology companies and even limiting American banks’ access to certain EU markets. New York Times, April 3

Israel's Netanyahu arrives in Hungary, defying ICC warrant
Hungary's enduring alliance with Israel will take centre stage as nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán welcomes Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu to Budapest on Thursday - despite Netanyahu being sought by the International Criminal Court under an arrest warrant. The relationship with Israel has strengthened since the start of the war in Gaza, which was sparked by the Palestinian militant group Hamas's attack on October 7, 2023. Israel's broad and devastating offensive in reaction gave rise to the ICC charges Netanyahu faces. Orbán, who has touted Hungary as "the safest country in Europe" for Jews, became the first leader to extend an invitation to Netanyahu, in defiance of the ICC arrest warrant. France 24, April 3

Elon Musk to ‘step back’ from advising Donald Trump
Elon Musk is preparing to step back from his role as a senior White House aide, President Trump is said to have told his inner circle. Trump said he remained satisfied with Musk’s vast, unprecedented programme of government cuts, but it has been agreed that Musk will soon return to his businesses, Politico reported. The news comes after weeks of concern among White House insiders that Musk, 53, had begun to overstep his remit as a government adviser and become a liability to the Trump administration. Only a month ago White House officials and allies were predicting Musk was “here to stay” and that the president would find a way around the 130-day time limit for unelected advisers, which is due to expire in late May or early June. The Times, April 2

Apple and other US tech groups hit as Donald Trump targets suppliers
Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff regime threatens upheaval for the likes of Apple, Amazon and other US companies that rely heavily on manufacturing in China and other countries now targeted for extra levies. The US president’s extra tariffs, due to come into effect within days, impose a universal 10 per cent levy on all countries. But they are much steeper for many of the Asian countries whose factories are deeply embedded in supply chains relied on by US multinationals. The extent of new tariffs was “worse than the worst case” scenario that markets feared, wrote Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives. China faces a “reciprocal” 34 per cent tariff, Trump said, on top of a 20 per cent tariff he has already imposed. Taiwan faces a reciprocal tariff of 32 per cent, although semiconductors, a geopolitically critical export, are exempt for now. Vietnam and India - which have also become important production centres for the likes of Apple - face reciprocal tariffs of 46% and 26%, respectively. Financial Times, April 3

‘Meta has stolen books’: authors to protest in London against AI trained using ‘shadow library’
Authors and other publishing industry professionals will stage a demonstration outside Meta’s London office today in protest of the organisation’s use of copyrighted books to train artificial intelligence. Novelists Kate Mosse and Tracy Chevalier as well as poet and former Royal Society of Literature chair Daljit Nagra will be among those in attendance outside the company’s King’s Cross office. Protesters will meet at Granary Square at 1.30pm and a letter to Meta from the Society of Authors will be hand-delivered at 1.45pm. It will also be sent to Meta headquarters in the US. Earlier this year, a US court filing alleged that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg approved the company’s use of a notorious “shadow library”, LibGen, which contains more than 7.5 million books. Last month, the Atlantic republished a searchable database of the titles contained in LibGen, through which many authors discovered their works may have been used to train Meta’s AI models. The Guardian, April 3

UK set to host 2035 Women's World Cup as only 'valid' bid
The United Kingdom is set to host the 2035 Women's World Cup as the sole "valid" bidder for the tournament, Fifa president Gianni Infantino says. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland submitted a joint expression of interest in March to hold the World Cup across the home nations. Under Fifa rotation rules, the tournament must be in Europe or Africa. Spain's federation president Rafael Louzan said last week that they were "working on" a joint bid alongside Portugal and Morocco. However, the deadline for expressions of interest passed on Monday and Infantino says the UK's bid is the only one received for 2035, while the United States are set to host the 2031 edition. "Today I can confirm as part of the bidding process that we received one bid for 2031 and one valid bid for 2035," Infantino said at a Uefa congress in Belgrade. "The 2031 bid is the United States of America and potentially some other Concacaf members and the 2035 bid is from Europe and the home nations. So, the path is there for the Women's World Cup in 2031 and 2035 to take place in some great nations and further boost the women's football movement." BBC news, April 3

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Putin’s Russia: dreams of a normal country dashed