👋 Héébee!*
Welcome to Monday, where Benjamin Netanyahu is angry about his political frenemy’s DC trip, Haiti declares a state of emergency after 4,000+ inmates escape, and a Russian-American crew lifts off toward the ISS. Meanwhile, Ellias Kassem unpacks the complicated dynamics at work in Morocco when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
[*Arapaho, Wyoming, U.S.]
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This is our daily newsletter Worldcrunch Today, a rapid tour of the news of the day from the world's best journalism sources, regardless of language or geography.
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
“The world watches France,” titles Paris-based daily L’Humanité, as French lawmakers are expected to enshrine abortion rights in the country’s Constitution on Monday. If the move is approved during a rare joint session of the lower-house National Assembly and the Senate, this will make France the only country in the world to explicitly protect the right to terminate a pregnancy in its basic law. Read more on what’s driving abortion rights around the world in this Worldcrunch article.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Netanyahu rival Benny Gantz to meet U.S. leaders: Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz is set to meet senior Biden administration officials on his visit to the United States on Monday. Gantz, who was brought into Israel’s unity war cabinet after Oct. 7, is reported to have enraged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, signaling a wider split in Tel Aviv as the war in Gaza enters its fifth month. Follow Worldcrunch’s international coverage of the situation in the Middle East here.
• State of emergency declared in Haiti after mass jailbreak: The government of Haiti declared a 72-hour state of emergency on Sunday after armed gangs stormed a major prison in the capital Port-au-Prince, leading to the killing of at least 12 people and the escape of around 4,000 inmates. Gang leaders say they want to force the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is currently abroad. The groups aiming to oust him control around 80% of Port-au-Prince.
• Kremlin says Germany recording shows intent to strike Russia: The Kremlin said on Monday a purported recording of German military discussions showed Germany's armed forces were discussing plans to launch strikes on Russian territory, and questioned whether Chancellor Olaf Scholz was in control of the situation. Germany has said it is investigating what it called an apparent act of eavesdropping by Russia.
• Nikki Haley wins Washington, D.C. in Republican primary: Presidential candidate Nikki Haley won the Washington, D.C., Republican primary on Sunday, her first victory in the nominating process. Haley, the only remaining challenger to Donald Trump in the race, won 62.9% of the vote, versus 33.2% captured by the former president. For more, we offer this recent article by Luis Rubio for America Economia: Why Biden May Be Just As Bad For U.S.-Mexico Trade As Trump
• South Korea to suspend doctor licenses as strike crisis escalates: South Korea has said it will suspend the licenses of trainee doctors who have ignored an ultimatum to end a strike over government plans to increase medical school admissions. About 9,000 junior doctors walked out on February 20, leading to the cancellation of some operations and treatments.
• Swiss voters back “historic” proposal to boost pension payments: Swiss voters have given themselves an extra month's pension each year in a nationwide referendum focusing on living standards for the elderly. The government had warned that the increased payments would be too expensive to afford. But a call by trade unions to add a 13th monthly pension payment each year secured nearly 60% backing, final results showed. The maximum monthly state pension is €2,550 ($2,760) which many say is not enough to live on in Switzerland.
• New U.S.-Russian crew heads to ISS: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying three U.S. astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut has been launched from Florida bound for the International Space Station (ISS), for a six-month sojourn. Space is one of the few areas where the U.S. and Russia continue to cooperate closely despite the war in Ukraine. The three men and one woman are in a capsule used in space four times before by Elon Musk's SpaceX firm.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
$41.8 million
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong has announced the country would devote 64 million Australian dollars ($41.8m) in funding for maritime security. Speaking on the first day of a special summit with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Melbourne. Wong did not specify which countries the funding would go to but “welcomed efforts” by Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines to “delimit their maritime boundaries.”
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
Why Morocco has taken a softer line with Israel
Even while Morocco has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Gaza, it has been crafting one of the most careful diplomatic positions in the Arab World on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in part because of a significant Jewish-Moroccan population. But its stance puts the monarchy in conflict with most of Morocco’s population.
🇲🇦 The monarchy led by King Mohammed VI, which won diplomatic concessions in return for having ties with Israel, sees the war in Gaza as a delicate topic to manage as the Palestinian cause remains immensely popular among its population. Said Saddiki, professor of International Relations and International Law at Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, said Morocco has found itself trapped between “the hammer of geopolitical interests” with Israel and “the anvil of popular pressure and its historical commitments” towards the Palestinians.
✊ Before the war in Gaza, the monarchy exhibited a heavy hand with domestic opponents of Israel, with authorities cracking down on anti-normalization protests and breaking up sit-ins outside the Parliament. The popular protests swelled after Oct. 7, and the ballooning casualties among civilians in Gaza, drawing thousands of protesters every week to the streets in Rabat and other Moroccan cities. The protests have been supported by many Islamist and leftist political parties, professional unions and associations.
🇮🇱 Hespress, one of the leading Moroccan media outlets, reported in November that Rabat wouldn’t take measures that could jeopardize its ties with Israel and the benefits it gained from the normalization. The outlet quoted Saeed Berkenan, a Moroccan political analyst, as saying that Morocco-Israel ties are based on “strategic agreements” to achieve “significant mutual interests.” He also said that Morocco's role in pushing regional peace is different from other Arab nations, given the significant Moroccan Jewish minority in Israel.
➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
📣 VERBATIM
“It's more exciting than James Bond.”
— An MI6 officer named only as Kwame spoke to BBC Radio 1Xtra about his work from the agency's London headquarters, saying he has seen “some of the coolest stuff,” “things that will blow your mind.” Kwame is the first black spy to give a broadcast interview, as part of efforts by MI6 to recruit more people from black and Asian backgrounds. The director of organizational development said he wanted to tell people that anyone can work for MI6, whatever their ethnicity or background, and to debunk the popular depictions associated with famous British spy James Bond: “I'm afraid it makes you think that everyone who works here is a white, middle-class male, who is driving an Aston Martin, who likes women and all that. But that's not true.”
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
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• Africa Must Stop Using France As An Excuse For Not Taking Any Responsibility — FINANCIAL AFRIK
• With Ukraine's Coal Miners Called To War, Women Step In To Fuel The Nation — UKRAINSKA PRAVDA
✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright and Anne-Sophie Goninet
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