|
A survey released today showed that most Americans are in favor of sending aid to Ukraine, though support has declined since the start of the war. Plus: Why is humanitarian aid to Gaza being dropped into the sea?
|
|
|
|
Photo: Jose Luis Magana / AP
|
|
1. Americans still support sending aid to Ukraine, new survey finds
Two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion, most Americans continue to be in favor of the United States providing military and economic assistance to Ukraine, according to a joint survey from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and Ipsos published Wednesday.
Support for sending military aid to Ukraine is strongest among Democrats and Independents, at 75% and 54%, respectively. By contrast, 53% of Republicans surveyed are opposed.
Overall, public support for the war has steadily declined. Near the start of the war, in March 2022, 79% of Americans supported sending military aid to Ukraine. In September 2023, that support had dropped to 63%. Today, it’s at 58%.
Nearly 70% of Americans are in favor of the U.S. supporting Ukraine’s admission to NATO.
The survey was conducted Feb. 16 to 18 among 1,039 American adults.
|
|
2. Asylum applications to EU countries reach near-record high
Last year the European Union received its highest number of asylum applications since the refugee crisis of 2015-2016, according to a new report from the European Union Agency for Asylum released on Tuesday.
More than 1.14 million people submitted applications for asylum in 2023, an 18% increase from the year before, the study found.
Germany remained the most popular destination country, while Syria again supplied the most applicants.
In related news, an EU watchdog group said on Wednesday that the European Union’s border agency doesn’t have the capacity to prevent maritime disasters.
The European Ombudsman’s investigation was spurred by the deaths of more than 600 migrants off the coast of Greece last June.
Both the border agency, Frontex, and the Hellenic Coast Guard came under fire for not helping the passengers when their ship capsized. The Coast Guard said that smugglers aboard the ship refused assistance.
|
|
3. Why is humanitarian aid to Gaza being dropped into the sea?
The amount of aid reaching the Gaza Strip has dropped by half since January, according to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. Experts have warned that 2.2 million people are at risk of imminent famine.
The situation is especially dire in Rafah, which currently shelters nearly 1.5 million Palestinians and is facing a military offensive.
This week, Jordan led a team of international partners in airdropping aid packages into the sea off the Gazan coast, where Palestinians retrieved the deliveries by boat.
According to the World Food Programme, delivering aid by air is often a last resort. However, overwater airdrops like this can be a valuable way to deliver aid in regions where roads are impassable and communities are too densely populated to safely conduct airdrops on land.
Reporting by Tria Raimundo.
|
|
In other news
- On Wednesday, Ghana’s parliament passed a strict anti-LGBTQ bill, which would punish the support of LGBTQ rights with a prison term of up to five years. President Nana Akufo-Addo has not yet indicated whether he’ll sign the bill into law. [CBS News]
- TFW you have your priorities straight: Argentinian President Javier Milei banned gender-inclusive language in all official documents on Tuesday. There’s a growing push in Spanish to use the more gender-neutral “x,” “e,” or “@” at the ends of words instead of the feminine/masculine “a” and “o.” [CNN]
- The birth rate in South Korea, already the lowest in the entire world, fell for the fourth year in a row last year, by 8%. [BBC]
- The French senate approved a bill on Wednesday that would enshrine individuals’ right to an abortion in the country’s constitution. The measure now moves to a joint session of Parliament, where it’s expected to pass. [Le Monde]
- A professional women’s softball league started in Mexico last month, in what appears to be a first in Latin America. [The New York Times]
|
|
|
Say that again
“It’s very scary. Because they can arrest you any minute and fine you. Or torture you with lashes. The usual penalty if you’re arrested is 74 lashes,” said a 20-year-old Iranian woman who refuses to wear a hijab in public, despite the risk of punishment by the government. [BBC]
|
|
|
‘No one deserves to die seeking a safe and more humane life’
Meet 30-year-old Leona Blankenstein, who works with an international organization that rescues migrants at sea.
|
|
|
|
What we’re cooking
There are certain dishes that I’m not going to make at home. My chicken tikka masala will never come close to what I can get at the restaurant down the street. BBQ? I simply don’t have the time or equipment to make it as good as it can be. And it’s probably best that sushi remain in the hands of professionals.
And while I avoid making a lot of Indian cuisine for the aforementioned reason, one dish I will cook at home is chana masala, especially after I came across this recipe last year. It calls for a longer cooking time than I was used to seeing, which makes the chickpeas especially tender.
—Laura Adamczyk, staff writer
Thanks for reading. We’ll see you tomorrow.
|
|
Was this newsletter forwarded to you?
Sign up here to receive The Overview for free.
|
|
|
|
|
