Friday, December 27

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.

Cuba Wins At The UN, Launches New Crack Down At Home
3Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Brief

Cuba Wins At The UN, Launches New Crack Down At Home

'It's Getting Ugly,' Economist Writes About Price Fixing Policies November 3, 2022--The United Nations General Assembly took up the Cuban government's annual resolution to end the economic embargo imposes against that country. Cuba has widespread support among UN delegates for its request to end the U.S. embargo, which hampers its trade and economy. "The blockade constitutes a massive, flagrant and systematic violation of thehuman rights of the Cuban people," Cuba's resolution asserted. U.S. Political Counselor John Kelly issued a statement defending the U.S. position. "Mr. President, the United States opposes this resolution, but we stand with the Cuban people and will continue to seek ways to provide meaningful support to them," Kelly said. "We encourage this body to urge t...
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Russian Grain Deal Is Back On, Turkey Says
2Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

Russian Grain Deal Is Back On, Turkey Says

November 2, 2022—A grain deal that lets grain flow from Ukraine and Russia through Turkey to the global economy is back on as of 12:00 p.m. today, according to Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Erdoğan announced that Russia is rejoining the agreement, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative. He helped broker the deal with Ukraine and Russia along with the United Nations in July. It establishes a Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul, Turkey where officials inspect vessels for the sake of shipping food and fertilizer to the rest of the world. Russian President Vladimir Putin left the deal over the weekend, citing Ukraine's military actions against a key bridge as a reason. But Russian officials stayed engaged with the initiative, according to a recent UN update. As of toda...
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Algeria Hosts Arab League Summit
2Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Middle East, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Brief

Algeria Hosts Arab League Summit

Algeria hosts Arab League The Summit Comes On The Heels Of Historic Agreement Uniting Palestinian Factions November 2, 2022—Member of the 22-member Arab League met for the first time since 2019 in Algiers, Algeria Tuesday. It is the first Arab League meeting since Israel normalized its relations with several Arab countries, the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco. It also comes on the heels of a successful effort on the part of Algerian President Abdulmajeed Tabboune to bring sparring Palestinian factions together. On Tuesday, Tabboune welcomed the guests, saying that the League's "central and primary cause" is the "Palestinian cause," according to reporting by TRT World, a Turkish news broadcaster. "The Palestinian question is the mother of all questions," Tabboune said. Economi...
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A Week Before The Election, Biden Asks Big Oil To ‘Share The Wealth’
2Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Energy Policy, Oil & Gas, Types of News: Brief, United States

A Week Before The Election, Biden Asks Big Oil To ‘Share The Wealth’

November 1, 2022—A week away from the U.S. Midterm elections, inflation is grabbing the attention of voters and politicians alike. As Republicans play up the impact of rising prices and pin the blame on their opponents, Democrats point the finger at companies benefiting from higher prices. It doesn't take long for the focus to fall on energy companies, specifically those earning profit from the high price of oil on global markets. That's precisely the play President Joe Biden pulled from his playbook on Monday. "In a difficult time, Americans across the country have stepped up, and they — to do the right thing. But not everyone has stepped up," Biden said. "The oil industry has not — has not met its commitment to invest in America and support the American people. One by one, major o...
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Musk’s $8 Twitter Pay Plan
2Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Big Tech, Digital Economy, Types of News: Brief

Musk’s $8 Twitter Pay Plan

November 2, 2022—As the new owner and head of the world's social media gathering place, Elon Musk has a plan to make it a little less free. That is, he intends to charge $8 a month to Twitter users who want validation backing their accounts that they are legitimate. The validation would come from a blue check mark next to their names and handle. Moreover, that check mark could come with the privileges, such as priority in receiving replies, mentions, and search rankings, the ability to post long videos and audio, and half as many ads. Revenue the company receives from charging the fee could help Twitter reward the content creators, Musk said. Here he is discussing his vision in an archived video released today. Are you buying in? See video here. https://video.twimg.c...
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Migrant Workers At U.S. Military Bases Face Forced To Stay By Private Contractors
31Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Arms Sales, Military Industry, Human rights, Migration, Immigration, Borders, Types of News: Brief

Migrant Workers At U.S. Military Bases Face Forced To Stay By Private Contractors

Photo NBC Complaints Of Forced Labor Linger While Private Firms Continue To Win U.S. Contracts October 31, 2022—In an irony of ironies, the U.S. government opposes to human trafficking and forced labor at the same time that its Defense Department hires private contractors that routinely conducting those practices.  Migrant civilians working on U.S. military bases in the Persian Gulf are subject to trafficking and abusive labor practices, according to a groundbreaking investigation conducted by a team of international journalists. The team included investigative reporters from the Washington Post, NBC News, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, and Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalists to uncover the story. Their findings came to light late last...
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Musk’s Challenge Is Living Up To The Promise
27Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Big Tech, Digital Economy, Types of News: Brief

Musk’s Challenge Is Living Up To The Promise

Innovator Says That, Unlike Traditional Media, Twitter Won't Cater To Polarizing Extremes Elon Musk meets with Twitter staff ahead of the purchase. Photo: Walter Isaacson October 27, 2022—A day ahead of closing a $44 billion deal to buy one of the world's largest social media platforms, Elon Musk said he is acquiring Twitter to empower citizen journalism and make it a place where people from various views can come together to conduct health debate. Twitter is one of the world's most popular social media sites. While it is well behind Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Google's YouTube, TikTok, WeChat, and Telegram in terms of users, it boasts of strong engagement among its monthly average users of around 436 million people. Musk is known for his innovation, leadership, and tough ma...
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For All The Fuss With Truss, It’s Over
20Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Brief

For All The Fuss With Truss, It’s Over

Proposed Deficit Spending Put The British Economy At Risk And Created Turmoil October 20, 2022--British Prime Minister Liz Truss announced today she'll be stepping down next week when her party chooses a new leader. She said she informed King Charles she is resigning as leader of the Conservative Party and head of the country's government. "This will ensure we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plans and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security," Truss said on Twitter. It's been a bruising time for Truss. She served a total of 44 days after Queen Elizabeth made Truss's appointment to office official before peacefully passing away. As the country buried their beloved queen, an era of British strength faded with her. U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss resig...
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U.S. Treasury Assesses Impact Of Sanctions On Russia
17Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Arms Sales, Military Industry, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Treasury Assesses Impact Of Sanctions On Russia

U.S. Government Warns About Secondary Sanctions To People Or Entities Supporting Russia's War October 17, 2022—As Russia has waged war against Ukraine and Ukraine fought back, Western governments have carefully weighed in on the battle through the global financial system. It's a powerful economic coalition that comprises 37 countries. The U.S. government alone issued roughly 1,500 new sanctions and amended 750 more. They target Russia's defense industrial base, the aerospace sector, the microelectronic industry, financial institutions, elites and oligarchs, luxury goods, and oil refining. The sanctions are having an impact on the Russian economy. But is it enough to have an impact strong enough to end the war? Impact of Sanctions On Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department rele...
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EU Advances Bosnia And Herzegovina Membership Request
14Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Europe, EU, Eurozone, Geopolitics, Human rights, Types of News: Brief

EU Advances Bosnia And Herzegovina Membership Request

European Commission Demands Candidate Countries Provide Stronger Human Rights Protections October 14, 2022—The European Commission gave the green light to Bosnia and Herzegovina on its candidacy to join the 27-member European Union. The decision, which comes with stipulations, moves to the European Council. EU leaders are aspiring to expand their bloc as a way to spread their perspective on the world stage. Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi called the enlargement policy a "geostrategic investment" in the continent's peace and stability. Candidates for the EU Line Up Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia are the latest countries to request membership. The bloc already has many countries waiting to get in, including Turkey, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, and Kosovo. "The Western Balkans are ...
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