Friday, March 14

Types of News: Brief

News briefs are shorter stories about current events. It’s the who-what-when-and-where. “Just the facts, ma’am.” Please see our writers guidelines.

IMF Adjusts Economic Forecast for New Fragmented World
Global Economics, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Brief

IMF Adjusts Economic Forecast for New Fragmented World

Inflation Expected To Remain High 'For Much Longer' April 19, 2022—War, rising energy costs, and a de-globalizing world are impacting the global economy in large and small ways. The International Monetary Fund is taking note and is adjusting its projection for economic growth to 3.6 percent for 2022 and 2023. That's down from 6.1 percent growth last year. Russia's war on Ukraine and the retaliating sanctions against Russia and Belarus are having the largest impact, according to Pierre-Olivier Courinchas, a lead economist with the IMF. But other factors are weighing down growth prospects too: Inflation, a slowdown in China, and monetary tightening by central banks. Fragmentation Reversing Gains From Globalization The IMF is trying to keep the world integrated, Courinchas said. D...
Elon Musk Makes Offer To Buy Twitter
Big Tech, Digital Economy, Types of News: Brief

Elon Musk Makes Offer To Buy Twitter

Musk Says Platform Has Potential To Advance 'Free Speech Around the Globe' April 14, 2022—In yet another twist and extraordinary move, Elon Musk made an offer on Wednesday to buy 100 percent of the shares of the social networking site Twitter. It comes after Musk, the world's richest person, spent $2.64 billion this year to purchase a 9 percent stake in the company. He briefly agreed to join the company's board on April 9, but then changed course. In an April 13 letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk said he wants to turn the firm back into a private company. "I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy," Musk wrote. "Howev...
Crypto In The Russia-Ukraine War
Big Tech, Digital Economy, Cryptocurrency, Foreign Aid, International Development, Types of News: Analysis, Types of News: Brief

Crypto In The Russia-Ukraine War

Cryptocurrencies Are Playing Roles In The Battle; And The Battle Is Impacting The Prices This is a follow-up piece to Finance writer Jesús Cedeño's analysis of where cryptocurrencies are today. All viewpoints are his own do not necessarily reflect the views and positions of the Global Economic Report. Neither the writer nor Mohr Media’s GER website are responsible for readers’ investment decisions. April 11, 2022—It’s no coincidence that Bitcoin prices have shown an upward trend since February 25th. Today, we cannot talk about cryptocurrencies without looking at the Russia-Ukraine war. It's a factor that is influencing not only crypto’s value, but also the way governments all over the world are using and reacting to the conflict.   Larry Fink, chairman of BlackRock, says the R...
UN Boots Russia Out Of Human Rights Council
Diplomacy, Human rights, Types of News: Brief, UN Security Council

UN Boots Russia Out Of Human Rights Council

UN General Assembly on April 7, 2022 April 10, 2022--This week, the UN General Assembly by a two-thirds majority put forth a resolution to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council. With a vote of 93 for-to-24 against with 58 countries abstaining, the resolution passed.   Some of the countries that voted to remove Russia included Ukraine, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Norway. China, Cuba, and Iran joined the countries siding with Russia. Meanwhile, India, Brazil, South Africa, Pakistan, and Singapore were among the 58 countries that abstained from the vote. It was April 7th, and it was the anniversary of the 1994 genocide. Mass Atrocities in Ukraine One of the main factors influencing the special session of the General Assembly was multiple reports...
Europe Takes On Big Tech
Big Tech, Digital Economy, Types of News: Brief

Europe Takes On Big Tech

EU passes sweeping rules for big tech. EU Sets Rules For Online Gatekeepers Like Google, Meta, Amazon, and Apple March 28, 2022—The European Union agreed on a set of new rules for large digital platforms late last week. Lawmakers have been working on the legislation, known as the Digital Markets Act, since 2020. The set of sweeping changes for large platforms gives users greater rights and forces the companies to give greater access to competing operating systems, apps, and advertising positions. "These rules are key to stimulating and unlocking digital markets, enhancing consumer choice, enabling better value sharing in the digital economy, and boosting innovation," said Cédric O, a French Minister of State. "The European Union is the first to take such decisive action in this...
Nearly 3.7 Million Ukrainians Are Refugees With Millions More Internally Displaced
Migration, Immigration, Borders, Types of News: Brief

Nearly 3.7 Million Ukrainians Are Refugees With Millions More Internally Displaced

More than 3.5 Ukrainians have fled their country as of March 23, 2022 in the outbreak of war. Photo credit: CBS News. EU Pledges Financial Support For Receiving Countries March 24, 2022--As the Russian incursion continues, more and more Ukrainians escape their battle-beaten, war-torn country. To date, nearly 3.7 million Ukrainians have fled the country. Overall, the United Nations says the war has impacted 12 million. Once inside the European Union, immigrants with visas have access to the entire European Union. The Schengen area is a consortium of 26 European countries that allows unrestricted personal travel between nations for periods up to 90-days. Based on the free movement of people in this visa-free zone, the world's largest visa-free zone, Ukrainian refugees can escape...
NATO Heads Of State Full-Text Statement
Types of News: Brief

NATO Heads Of State Full-Text Statement

NATO Affirms 'Unwavering Support' For Territorial Integrity Of Ukraine March 24, 2022--While meeting in an extraordinary summit today, the heads of state of the 30 countries released a statement about Russia's war against Ukraine. The leaders expressed resolve to counter Russia's aggression and hold Russia and Belarus to account. Also, they called on China to "abstain from supporting Russia’s war effort in any way." The following is the full-text statement from the March 24, 2022 meeting: We, the Heads of State and Government of the 30 NATO Allies, have met today to address Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the gravest threat to Euro-Atlantic security in decades.  Russia’s war against Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe and is causing enormous human suffering and d...
Europe Shores Up Its Defence, Sets Up Security Plan
Europe, EU, Eurozone, Geopolitics, Types of News: Brief

Europe Shores Up Its Defence, Sets Up Security Plan

NATO Also To Strengthen Its Defense Capabilities In Europe And Perhaps Beyond March 23, 2022--This week political leaders are meeting on two tracks to build up security in Europe: in the NATO Alliance and in the European Council. Josep Borrell speaks ahead of European Council March 21, 2022 meeting. Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, European countries started plans to shore up their own defenses. It started in 2017 with talks of a voluntary defense arrangement among EU countries. Over time, it grew in. ambitions. After Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in August, European leaders began talking about strengthening their own defense capabilities and building stronger autonomy in foreign policy. That led to the culmination of the Strategic Compass. It is a forward-looking defense ...
Council Of Europe Moves Forward Minus One: Russia
Democracy, Human rights, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Brief

Council Of Europe Moves Forward Minus One: Russia

March 16, 2022--The human rights body for the European continent made a big decision today: It kicked one of its 46 members out. It is another sign of the turning point in history when the world becomes more divided. In what it said was "an extraordinary meeting" in Strasbourg, the Council of Europe revoked the membership of the Russian Federation after 26 years of its participation. Human Rights Body Statement The expulsion comes a day after the council's parliamentary assembly initiated the procedure. "Through their actions in Ukraine the Russian authorities deprive the Russian people of the benefit of the most advanced human rights protection system in the world, including the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights and our vast convention system," the council's l...
Four-in-Ten Americans Want To Do More To Help Ukraine
Types of News: Brief

Four-in-Ten Americans Want To Do More To Help Ukraine

Pew Survey Finds 1/3 Of U.S. Adults Say They Are Willing To Risk Nuclear War To Help Ukraine March 16, 2022--A survey of over ten thousand U.S. adults by the Pew Research Center about Russia's invasion of Ukraine produced some interesting findings. Roughly half of the respondents said they consider Russia's war a "major threat" to U.S. interests. Republicans and Democrats agree on that, and they want to do more to help. Americans consider Russia's invasion of Ukraine a major threat and support tough sanctions against Russia. Furthermore, Americans are closely following news about the war. Strong majorities in both parties--more than 8 in 10--favor sanctions against Russia. Notably, more than a third of the respondents said they would favor "taking military action even if it risks ...

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