- The Guardian
- Issue #2106
HUNGARY: EU documents and reports from The Financial Times and Sputnik suggest that the EU is increasing pressure on Hungary to end its veto of aid to Ukraine. In December 2023, Hungary vetoed the commitment of €50 million as financial aid to Ukraine in the EU’s budget. With the issue of aid to Ukraine on the table for an EU summit, reports have suggested a strategy of economic sabotage may be deployed to pressure Hungary into supporting the fund. Hungary has previously offered to support a Ukraine aid fund outside of the EU budget, and has now offered to support an EU fund should clauses be added allowing Hungary to change its decision later. The EU has also identified a legal loophole which potentially allow it to loan $50 billion to Ukraine as military assistance using frozen Russian assets.
BOLIVIA: President Luis Arce and other leaders have condemned an attempted military coup. Military units led by Juan Jose Zuniga, who had been stripped of his command, gathered in Plaza Murillo outside of congress and the presidential palace. Zuniga was arrested shortly after soldiers entered the presidential palace. The coup attempt comes as tensions in Bolivia rise ahead of the 2025 election. The USA has claimed to be monitoring the situation, which may be a cause for concern rather than comfort for Bolivians familiar with Latin American history. Countries across Latin America have expressed their support for Bolivia and condemned the coup attempt.
CANADA: The Haida Nation and the Province of British Columbia have signed a monumental land rights agreement. The Gaayhllxid/Gíihlagalgang “Rising Tide” Haida Title Lands Agreement marks the first time a Crown government has recognised an Aboriginal title in legislation. The agreement establishes a staged transition of Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands) to Haida jurisdiction, while protecting existing private property rights and government infrastructure. Indigenous leaders in Canada have stressed the importance of land rights as an ongoing issue, however, particularly in the face of fossil fuel and agribusiness expansion.
CUBA: The National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP) has commemorated the 22nd anniversary of the declaration of irrevocable socialism. In 2002, following a referendum supported by more than eight million people, the ANPP approved a change to Cuba’s constitution, enshrining socialism as the prevailing system of Cuba. Fidel Castro expressed that the change was made to preserve the results of the Cuban Revolution, particularly as the inability of capitalism to resolve the world’s most pressing issues was clearer than ever.
TÜRKIYE: President Erdoğan has expressed Türkiye’s solidarity with Lebanon against Israeli aggression and has urged other countries in the region to question Western support for Netanyahu’s war plans. Erdoğan has warned of Netanyahu’s plan to turn to Lebanon and the rest of the region, calling for Middle Eastern countries to be at the forefront of the rejection of Israel’s bloody expansion.
SOUTH KOREA: A fire at a lithium battery plant has claimed the lives of 23 workers, while several others were injured or have since been reported missing. The fire began due to several lithium batteries exploding at a factory in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. The Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming and Chinese Embassy officials have been working in co-ordination with South Korean officials due to preliminary data suggesting that a majority of the victims were Chinese nationals. At the time of writing, work is being done to conclusively identify the victims, identify and address the cause of the fire, and support families of the victims.
