- The Guardian
- Issue #2047
America: The Pentagon has blocked attempts by the US federal government to share alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, according to an 8th March report by the New York Times.
The rationale behind this decision, according to the paper, is that “American military leaders oppose helping the court investigate Russians because they fear setting a precedent that might help pave the way for it to prosecute Americans.” This has now spawned an intra-agency battle within the administration of President Joe Biden over what’s right and wrong.
Saudi Arabia: Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian will meet during Ramadan, the official Saudi Press Agency reported early Monday. Earlier this month on 10th March, Saudi Arabia and Iran, who severed ties in 2016, agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties, re-open embassies and exchange ambassadors within two months after trilateral talks hosted by China.
Public transportation throughout Germany will come to a halt, potentially leaving the 83-million-strong nation in a state of “traffic chaos,” Bild warned. What is being called the largest nationwide strike in decades has been organised by several powerful trade unions. The strike is the result of unions demands for wage hikes. The public services union, Verdi, seeks a pay rise of 10.5 per cent, but no less than €500 for some 2.5 million public employees. The railway and transport union (EVG) demands a 12 per cent wage increase but no less than €650. The unions blame inflation and rising commodity prices for the crisis.
Britain: The British government has announced it will be sending depleted uranium (DU) rounds to Ukraine along with Challenger 2 tanks.
As has been shown in wars over the last few decades, the health consequences for Ukrainian civilians will be high. DU is a chemically toxic and radioactive heavy metal and is a by-product of the enrichment process used to make reactor-grade uranium.
Dominican Republic: Representatives of 22 Latin American countries have rejected the United States coercive policies against Cuba in the final declaration of the 28th Ibero-American Summit. Representatives condemned the US including Cuba in the list of countries that sponsor terrorism. They also urged Washington to comply with 30 resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that called for an end to the blockade against Cuba.
“We reject the application of these measures, which violate international law and the United Nations Charter, and hinder the ability of States to meet their development needs and priorities,” the representatives stated.
