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Vice President Harris continued her push for a cease-fire in Gaza in talks with an Israeli cabinet member on Monday, while violence erupted across Haiti over the weekend. Plus: Planes, trains, and workers’ strikes in Germany.
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Photo: Odelyn Joseph / AP
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1. What’s going on in Haiti?
The government of Haiti ordered a curfew on Monday as part of a 72-hour state of emergency declared on Sunday after armed gangs laid siege to the country’s two largest prisons.
At least 12 people were killed, and about 3,700 inmates escaped in the jailbreak. The gangs are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who assumed the role in 2021 after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
Henry, who remains unelected, was supposed to step down early last month, but despite protests, he said he wouldn’t hold elections until the country was more stable.
This latest bout of violence began on Thursday, while Henry was in Nairobi discussing Kenyan-led security forces coming into Haiti to restore order.
An estimated 80% of Port-au-Prince is said to be under gang control, according to the United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator, Ulrika Richardson.
Richardson also said that residents are facing “inhuman” levels of violence and that there’s been a 50% increase in sexual violence between 2022 and 2023.
More than 8,400 Haitians suffered from gang violence in 2023 — including killings, injuries, and kidnappings — according to the United Nations.
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2. Vice President Harris meets with Israeli cabinet member amid calls for a cease-fire
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3. Planes, trains, and workers’ strikes
Germany’s train drivers and the ground crew of German airline Lufthansa are both set to begin strikes this week — twin actions expected to disrupt travel across the country.
The train drivers’ union said on Monday that, beginning Thursday, it will launch the latest in a series of nationwide strikes aimed at reducing workers’ weekly hours while preserving full-time pay amid inflation and staff shortages.
The union’s “strike wave” will coincide with an action by the ground staff of Lufthansa planned for Thursday and Friday.
Lufthansa’s roughly 25,000 ground workers are also striking for better pay: 12% salary increases or $542 more per month, whichever is higher.
The airline offered pay increases over an extended period, but the union representing the workers rejected the offer.
“It is inexplicable to anyone that this company is about to announce a record annual performance this week, is going to increase bonuses for its board considerably, and that staff on the ground with an hourly wage of sometimes €13 don’t even know how they’re meant to make ends meet in some of Germany’s most expensive cities,” said a negotiator for the strikers.
Related: About 100 activists have built treehouses in a patch of woods outside of Berlin to protest the expansion of a Tesla electric car factory. They say the expansion will eliminate more than 247 acres of forest.
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In other news
- It’s official: On Monday, France became the first country in the world to enshrine the right to an abortion in its constitution. The effort was a response to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022. [CNN]
- The European Union fined Apple $1.9 billion on Monday for preventing music-streaming services from telling users about subscription options outside of the App Store. [Le Monde]
- Israel says two songwriters will revise the lyrics for their Eurovision entries to avoid potentially being disqualified. The songs, which allude to the Oct. 7 attacks, were originally deemed to be political, which is prohibited under Eurovision’s rules. [Al Jazeera]
- The average temperature in Medellín, Colombia, decreased by 2 degrees C in the first three years of an urban planting initiative carried out by 150 citizen-gardeners (click through for some very cool pics of a vertical garden). [Reasons to be Cheerful]
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Say that again
“The animals go totally crazy. They thought they were going to sleep.” This is Tora Greve, an artist and writer based in Sweden, describing a total solar eclipse she saw in Kenya.
Read more about Greve and find out what the total solar eclipse on April 8 will look like where you live, including whether or not you’re in the “path of totality.” [Bloomberg, paywall]
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‘Is climate change making my allergies worse?’
With pollination set to increase 16% to 40% by the end of the century, everyone better stock up on Kleenex.
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What we’re watching
Having seen four of the five movies nominated for this year’s Oscar for best international feature, I’m putting my money on either “Perfect Days” or “The Zone of Interest” taking home the prize.
The first, submitted by Japan, is a melancholy yet uplifting film about the pleasures found in a simple life. The second, submitted by the U.K. but set in Germany, is a bleak and unrelenting illustration of the banality of evil.
“The Zone of Interest,” set in 1943, centers around Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss, who lives in an idyllic country estate with his wife and children just next to the death camp.
In case you haven’t seen it yet, I won’t share what I think is the most interesting aspect of the film. But suffice to say that director Jonathan Glazer makes very intentional formal choices that underscore just how easily people can ignore the pain and annihilation of others, even when it’s right next door.
The Oscars air this coming Sunday, March 10.
—Laura Adamczyk, staff writer
Thanks for reading. We’ll see you tomorrow.
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