Saturday, January 14, 2023 |
Hello everyone! In today's edition, we have the latest from Ukraine, an execution in Iran, a criminal fine for the Trump Organization, and more. |
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Ukrainian army troops wait in the forest near Soledar, January 11, 2023. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne |
- Latest developments: Russia says it took the salt-mining town of Soledar, while Ukraine says it isn't so. Russian missile attacks hit critical infrastructure in Kyiv and Kharkiv, officials said, and the governor of another region warned that a massive missile strike could follow in the coming hours.
- Stepping back for a minute: We have two fine analytical stories out. One looks at Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is seeking Vladimir Putin's favor by trying to score a rare battlefield win. The other cites economists who warn that Russia is becoming too dependent on oil revenue to support its budget, and that Moscow might have to raise taxes.
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- The news: The execution of Alireza Akbari, who once served as Iran's deputy defense minister, came despite calls from London for his release after he was handed the death sentence on charges of spying for Britain. A recording purportedly from Akbari says Iran tortured him into confessing.
- Background: Akbari's execution marks the latest round in a history of strained relations with Britain, going back to the 1953 overthrow of Mohammed Mossadegh and the restoration of the shah. Read our timeline.
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- Alliances: Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's G7 tour ended with the words he needed to hear from President Joe Biden, namely that Washington reaffirms its commitment to Japan as it deals with regional security threats, notably China, North Korea and Russia.
- Meanwhile, about those documents: We're waiting to see if the president's handling of classified documents from his time as vice president catches fire as Republicans check on whether there's a Hunter angle in there somewhere. Here's a timeline of the events in the probe.
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- The end of one chapter: A New York judge ordered former president Donald Trump's real-estate company to pay a $1.61 million criminal penalty for tax fraud. Manhattan's district attorney is still conducting a probe into Trump's business practices.
- Another continues: A federal judge rejected Trump's bid to dismiss writer E. Jean Carroll's second lawsuit accusing him of defamation for denying he raped her in the mid-1990s.
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- Alabama, Georgia: Thursday's tornadoes killed at least nine people, local officials said. "We are finding more bodies as we speak," one county coroner in Alabama told us.
- And California: The Salinas River crept over its banks and San Francisco braced for flooding and power outages as the storms pelting California killed at least 19 people. The National Weather Service expects more rain this weekend, and here's why that won't end the state's drought.
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Before I forget...
Brazil's Supreme Court will investigate former President Jair Bolsonaro for allegedly encouraging anti-democratic protests that ended with the storming of government buildings, Janet Yellen says the United States will hit the debt ceiling next week, activist investor Nelson Peltz spared Wendy's as he took aim at Walt Disney, the EU plans to force companies to back up green claims about their products, and the World Economic Forum forgot to invite me to Davos again.
Finally, developing countries are selling a huge amount of debt to willing buyers. I very nearly ran a Prince Harry item instead of the debt story, but I refrained because of the excellent feedback that I received from hundreds of readers about what they'd like to see here. Thank you all very much.
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