IEP Future Trends Newsletter 6/13/2023

June 13, 2023

IEP Future Trends Newsletter 6/13/2023

Senegal shuts down its international embassies amid attacks.

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June 13, 2023

◯ Conflict ◯ Development ◯ Social ◯ Economics ◯ Politics

IN THIS WEEK'S EDITION

Here's what you need to know: Ukraine fears losing millions of tons of crops after dam collapse, Palestinian President to visit China following mediation offer, Senegal shuts down its international embassies amid attacks, UN suspends food aid to Ethiopia over widespread diversions, EU ministers seal historic migration deal, Indonesia's Baduy Indigenous group requests internet blackout to minimise online negative impact.

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SPECIAL EDITION: UKRAINE

Ukraine fears losing millions of tons of crops after dam collapse. Ukraine could lose several million tons of crops because of flooding caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in the south of the country. The cause of the dam collapse is unclear.

Top UN court allows a record 32 countries to intervene in Ukraine’s genocide case against Russia. The International Court of Justice has accepted requests from 32 countries to back Ukraine in a genocide case against Russia. It is the largest number of countries to join another nation’s complaint at the world court based in The Hague, Netherlands.

President Xi briefed on African peace mission to end Ukraine war. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has updated his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping about the upcoming mission by African leaders to Russia and Ukraine to try and broker peace. President Xi commended the effort.

POLITICS

Palestinian President to visit China following mediation offer. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is set to visit China next week, following an offer made by Xi Jinping to mediate and facilitate Israeli-Palestinian talks.

Guinea-Bissau’s opposition coalition wins parliamentary elections. The opposition coalition, led by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, has won the parliamentary elections, taking 54 of the 102 seats a year after parliament was dissolved.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame fires military officials. President Paul Kagame has dismissed several high-ranking military officials and named a new defence minister and army chief in a major reshuffle of the country’s security apparatus. Officials in the DRC and the West have accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 armed group.

Mexico president puts unity first to broker compromise in succession race. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador intervened in the increasingly fractious race to succeed him, a move party insiders said was aimed at warding off potential division and protecting the commanding political power base he has built.

Israel to recognise Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. Israel will soon announce its support for Morocco's claim of sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, Israeli parliament speaker Amir Ohana said during a visit to Rabat.

CONFLICT

Senegal shuts down its international embassies amid attacks. Senegal has announced the temporary closure of its consulates abroad in response to attacks on its diplomatic missions in various cities as a precautionary measure. Violent unrest was triggered by the conviction and sentencing of prominent opposition figure Ousmane Sonko to a two-year jail term.

Japan protests Chinese navy ships entering Japanese waters. Japan has conveyed strong concern after the Chinese navy entered waters near Yakushima Island. Chinese Coast Guard vessels also entered waters around Senkaku Islands, and attempted to approach a Japanese fishing boat.

China to build spy base in Cuba; US and Cuba cast doubt on report. China may have reached a secret deal with Cuba to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island roughly 100 miles from Florida. However, the U.S. and Cuban governments cast strong doubt on the report.

ASEAN to hold first joint military exercise off Indonesia as South China Sea. The decision was taken at a meeting of military commanders of the 10-member ASEAN in Indonesia, which will host the exercise in the North Natuna Sea, the southernmost waters of the South China Sea.

Imran Khan facing new charges, including murder charges. There have been nearly 150 charges laid against since the initial arrest. The 70-year-old former cricketer, who become prime minister in 2018, has been embroiled in a confrontation with the powerful military since he was ousted in a no-confidence vote last year.

ECONOMICS

UN suspends food aid to Ethiopia over widespread diversions. The WFP has temporarily suspended food aid to Ethiopia because its supplies are being diverted by the army. USAID also suspended aid amidst the severe drought and food shortages. The Ethiopian government has said that it will initiate investigations.

Taiwan-based computer manufacturers ship hardware to Russia. Acer supplied at least $70.4 million worth of computer hardware to Russia after saying it would suspend business there. While not illegal, such actions contrast with those of key Western rivals. The shipments highlight loopholes in international sanctions.

Google has officially changed its mind about remote work. By insisting on in-person attendance at their offices, Google joins a number of major tech companies who have recently taken firm stances on previously soft hybrid policies.

Saudi Arabia signs $5.6 bln deal with Chinese EV company. Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Investment has signed a $5.6 billion deal with Chinese electric car maker Human Horizons to collaborate on the development, manufacture and sale of vehicles. The agreement accounts for more than half of the more than $10 billion in investments signed on the first day of an Arab-China business conference.

EU considering major Tunisia aid package as migration surges. The EU said it may loan Tunisia over 1 billion euros to help develop its battered economy, rescue state finances and deal with a migration crisis, with most funds contingent on it agreeing to economic reforms.

DEVELOPMENT

EU ministers seal historic migration deal. EU ministers have agreed on shared responsibility for looking after migrants and refugees. It took just 12 hours for Italy and Greece to sign up to a deal that has eluded the bloc for nearly a decade.

AU reaches agreement on making continental Peace Fund operational.
The African Union Peace fund will be deployed for the first time in 2023 to support programs that address situations in Sudan, Somalia, and East Africa.

Iran and Afghanistan dispute Helmand water rights as crisis deepens.
Iran and Afghanistan exchanged gunfire amid rising tensions over water supplies in the region. The countries are engaged in a decades-long dispute over rights to the Helmand River, on which Iran depends to irrigate land in its arid south. The construction of dams on the Afghan side has intensified the situation in recent years.

US tells UNESCO it has decided to rejoin agency. The US privately notified UNESCO that it has decided to rejoin the agency, nearly six years after the Trump administration announced it was withdrawing U.S. membership. The country withdrew in an effort to counter what it saw as the growing influence of the Chinese government on the UN agency's agenda.

Nuclear diplomacy takes a hit amid Ukraine war. The annual assessment estimated that 9,576 warheads are in military stockpiles for potential use as of January 2023. That figure represents an increase of 86 additional warheads from January 2022.

SOCIAL

Indonesia's Baduy Indigenous group requests internet blackout to minimise online negative impact. The Baduy, a community of 26,000 people in the island of Java's Banten province, divide themselves into an outer group that partly adopts technology, and a sacred inner group that shuns the trappings of contemporary life.

High levels of drugs found in sea off South coast of England. Scientists involved in the research say marine life is being harmed by human drugs, pointing to evidence that oestrogen in water can feminise male fish through biological changes.

Spaceflight can induce long-lasting structural changes in the human brain. It's thought the swelling of the brain's ventricles represents a compensatory mechanism during spaceflight, allowing the brain to accommodate shifts in cerebrospinal fluid. Once back on Earth, brain fluid slowly settles back to its normal distribution.

Scientists say that the idea that morals are decaying is an illusion.
Surveys show people around the world have believed for decades that morals are decaying, but recent survey data contradicts that perception. The surveys taken over 70 years looked at people’s perceptions of their contemporaries which showed no change during the period.

Marriages in China slump to historic lows. Marriages dropped in 2022 to their lowest since records began, continuing a steady decline over the past decade. The drop comes as authorities deal with a declining birth rate and a falling population. Demographers warn China will get old before it gets rich, as its workforce shrinks and indebted local governments spend more on their elderly population.