👋 Hay!*
Welcome to Wednesday, where U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Ecuador declares war on armed gangs after masked gunmen storm a TV studio live on air, and Baby Yoda gets his own movie. Meanwhile, Raphaël Balenieri in French business daily Les Echos writes about how Finland, where former mobile giant Nokia was founded, wants to lead us into a 6G world.
[*Aklan, Philippines]
💡SPOTLIGHT
2014-2024: How Putin destroyed the 21st-century international order
Beginning with Russia's annexation of Crimea, Moscow's actions against its supposed "brotherly" neighbors have yielded decidedly mixed results. Yet there are certain outcomes of Russian aggression against Ukraine that have weakened the West and the post-Cold War global order, writes Andreas Umland in Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda.
It's now been a decade-long conflict in Ukraine, which began with Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea — and we can agree that Moscow's actions against its supposed "brotherly" neighbors have yielded decidedly mixed results.
Russia suffered significant damage to its reputation as a military powerhouse due to the 2022 war, which was widely condemned internationally, tarnishing the image of the Kremlin leadership, military generals, and defense sector. The Ukrainian campaign also led to severe repercussions, including the loss of Western trading partners, markets, and investors, with potential far-reaching consequences for Russia across regional, geopolitical, economic, and possibly domestic political spheres.
And yet even amidst these evident failures for Moscow, there are certain outcomes of Russian aggression against Ukraine that have weakened the international order and the West, two longstanding objectives of Vladimir Putin.
The large-scale invasion by Russia on February 24, 2022, did prompt an immediate move toward unity among Western nations. NATO and the European Union drew closer in response to Russian escalation. In addition, Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia advanced significantly toward Western integration, now designated as candidates for future EU membership.
Still, the repercussions of the Russian conflict in Eastern Europe have led to significant global political damage. And even while this may not have been Moscow's primary intention, these collateral effects align directly with Russia's interests.
Various current and potential future actors seeking revisionist changes to the balance of power benefit from Russia's disruption of international laws and norms. Russia's assault on the global security framework not only weakens the West and international institutions but, according to Moscow's zero-sum calculations, thus also strengthens itself, its anti-Western allies, and other revisionist players worldwide.
Aside from the devastation inflicted upon Ukraine, Russia's actions represent the most significant threat to global stability since the end of World War II.
While there have been numerous tragic wars worldwide since 1945, Russia's war against Ukraine since 2014, escalating in 2022, possesses distinct characteristics that mark it as a uniquely dangerous force of destabilization.
To understand better what we're witnessing, consider the following five key areas that highlight Russia's impact on the global order.
Firstly, in 2014, Russia initiated an attack on a peaceful country without any provocation. The narrative pushed by Russia and its supporters regarding Ukraine's domestic and foreign policy shift in 2014 is overstated. The EU-Ukraine association agreement at that time did not clash with the existing free trade pact between Russia and Ukraine. [...]
— Read the full article by Andreas Umland for Ukrainska Pravda, translated into English by Worldcrunch.🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• U.S. backs “tangible steps” for Palestinian state, Blinken says in Abbas meeting: In a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington supports “tangible steps” towards the creation of a Palestinian state. Meanwhile, Israel has intensified bombings in central and southern Gaza, with dozens killed in overnight attacks.
• U.S., UK shoot down Houthi drones and missiles over Red Sea: British and American Navy forces took down 21 missiles and drones launched by Houthi rebels over the southern Red Sea in one of the largest attacks carried out by the Yemen-based group since November 2023. No injuries or damage to vessels were reported. Read more in this recent analysis, translated from French by Worldcrunch: What Are Iran's Real Intentions? Watch What The Houthis Do Next.
• Ecuador president declares war on armed gangs after TV station attacked: Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa has declared an “internal armed conflict” in the country and ordered criminal gangs be “neutralized” after masked gunmen broke into the set public television channel TC during a live broadcast. Police said all armed men were arrested and members of the media outlet evacuated. The attack was one of several violent incidents playing out across Ecuador since a state of emergency was declared on Monday following the disappearance of notorious gangster José Adolfo Macías Villamar from his maximum security cell in Guayaquil.
• Zelensky makes surprise visit to Lithuania to drum up support: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Lithuania in an unannounced visit to the key ally of Kyiv, before heading to Estonia and Latvia, as the leader seeks to to bolster wavering support among other Western backers.
• Putin critic Navalny held in “punishment cell” in Arctic prison: Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny says he’s been held in a small punishment cell for an alleged minor breach at the Arctic “Polar Wolf” colony, among the harshest in Russia’s prison system. Navalny, who’s serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism, was seen in a court via a video link on Wednesday for the first time since his transfer last month.
• Poland police arrest fugitive politicians at presidential palace: Polish police entered the country's presidential palace on Tuesday to arrest two politicians convicted of abuse of power, amid a dramatic escalation of tensions between President Andrzej Duda and the new government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Former Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński, who received a two-year sentence in December, said on Wednesday he was starting a hunger strike from prison and denounced his conviction as “an act of political revenge.”
• Baby Yoda to get his own movie: Grogu (a.k.a. “Baby Yoda”) will make his debut on the big screen in a new Star Wars franchise movie titled The Mandalorian & Grogu, which will go into production later this year and will be directed by Jon Favreau. Since his introduction in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, the green alien child has become a fan favorite.🗞️ FRONT PAGE
The Ecuadorian daily El Universo dedicates its front page to the on-air invasion of a TV station by a group of gunmen yesterday. Men wearing balaclavas stormed the set of TC Television and took several journalists and staff members hostage during a live broadcast. Police made 13 arrests following the attack, which left two employees injured. Violent incidents, including kidnappings and explosions, have unfolded across the country following the prison escape of the leader of Ecuador's biggest gang, Los Choneros, on Monday. President Daniel Noboa declared a 60-day state of emergency and has named 22 gangs as terrorist organizations and military targets.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
5.6 million
Uganda has announced it would destroy more than 5.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines that have expired. The doses, bought by the government in 2021 with the help of a World Bank loan, are worth an estimated 28.1 billion Ugandan shillings ($7.3 million). As COVID vaccines demand is now at zero, total losses from expired doses are expected to exceed $78 million by the end of 2024.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
A 5G leapfrog? Inside Finland's push to lead the world straight to a 6G future
In Oulu, Finland, near the Arctic Circle, 500 researchers at the 6G Flagship laboratory are already outlining the next generation of mobile technology, due to arrive by 2030. Nokia's homeland wants to turn the page on 5G, which failed to win over the industry, reports Raphaël Balenieri in French business daily Les Echos.
🧑💻 With its many cafés, huge bean bags for napping, fab lab for 3D printing and several hairdressers, the ultramodern university in Oulu, Finland, is not your typical university. While 5G is struggling to find its audience, the campus is one of the first in Europe and the world that is already working on 6G. Since 2018, the 6G Flagship’s 500 researchers of 54 nationalities have been outlining the next generation of mobile networks.
📱 The issue is crucial for Finland and Europe. The country that gave birth to Nokia (Europe's only telecommunications equipment manufacturer, along with Ericsson) was marked by the great crisis of 2013. That year, after missing the smartphone revolution, the former star company was forced to sell its mobile phone business to Microsoft for $5 billion, and to focus solely on equipment for operators. In Oulu, Finland's fifth largest city, thousands of employees lost their jobs. Ten years later, with Nokia struggling once again, Finland wants to get ahead of the game.
📶 The outline of 6G still needs to be clarified. In Oulu, its designers imagine it as a hexagon, with six cardinal points, whereas 5G was more of a triangle. As a result, the three benefits of 5G will be amplified: 6G should offer data rates 10 times higher (around 1 gigabit per second), be 10 times faster (latency of around 0.1 milliseconds) and have the ability to connect more objects. For the first time, 6G will also carry more than just data, TikTok videos or Netflix series. For example, 3D maps, digital twins, holograms...
➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com
📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO
➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED
📣 VERBATIM
“China will not make any concession or compromise on the Taiwan question.”
— With just days to go before Taiwanese elections on Saturday, China’s Defense Ministry issued a statement saying it will “never compromise” on the issue of the island’s independence, as it still claims Taiwan as part of its own territory. The readout comes as the U.S. and China wrapped up two days of military talks in Washington — the first such talks since 2021. China also urged the U.S. to stop arming Taiwan and not to support its independence.
📸 PHOTO DU JOUR
Damaged buildings in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza. Dozens were killed overnight across Gaza as Israel intensified airstrikes. — Photo: Mohammed Ali/Xinhua/ZUMA
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Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world!