Today it’s all about the money — who’s giving it, who’s taking it away — and now I can’t get this song out of my head.
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Photo: Mark Lennihan / AP
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1. EU wants to ‘make Russia pay’ for war (literally)
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, allies froze more than $330 billion in Russian assets held overseas. The thinking was that, by doing so, they could “make Russia pay” for its actions in Ukraine.
Now, with Ukraine’s arsenal dwindling and U.S. funding tied up in Congress, the European Union has come up with a (sort of) new plan: Give the interest earned on the frozen assets — over $217 billion of which are in the European Union — to Ukraine.
EU leaders met in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the plan, which is revised from an earlier version from last year. The plan would free up about $3 billion to give to Ukraine.
On Thursday, the U.S. proposed to its allies in the Group of Seven — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom — that they issue an additional $50 billion in “freedom bonds” backed by the interest from the frozen assets held in their countries, using the proceeds to support Ukraine.
In other Ukraine-Russia news:
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2. Congressional deal could ban funding to UN aid agency in Gaza
U.S. congressional leaders and the White House reached a deal on a massive spending bill this week that includes a yearlong ban on U.S. funding to UNRWA, the United Nations relief agency for Palestinians, including in the Gaza Strip.
The bill, which is expected to clear Congress by the weekend to avoid a partial government shutdown, also includes funding for the military and State Department.
The U.S. and several other U.N. member nations suspended funding to the agency in January after Israel accused 12 UNRWA employees of participating in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks. Canada and the European Union have since announced they will resume sending money to the agency.
The U.S. has historically been one of UNRWA’s largest contributors, giving over $6 billion to the agency since 1950. The U.S. made up 29.4% of the agency’s total funding in 2022. Germany and Sweden, the agency’s other two biggest national donors that year, have both temporarily suspended UNRWA funding.
Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday it would increase its UNRWA support by $40 million amid fears that the agency will have to shut down due to lack of funding.
Read more on Blue Marble: How much financial assistance has the U.S. given the Palestinian territories?
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3. Where did you get that shrimp?
Shrimp is the United States’ favorite seafood — besting canned tuna, salmon, and tilapia by amount eaten — with the average American eating five pounds of the stuff per year.
On any given day, there’s a very good chance the shrimp you’re eating has been imported: More than 90% of the shrimp Americans consume comes from elsewhere. In the last decade, India has been able to take advantage of America’s growing demand for shrimp, becoming the number one exporter of the shellfish to the United States.
But — and I think you could feel a “but” coming — India’s status as top shrimp exporter has come at the expense of both the industry’s workers and the environment, according to an investigation by the Associated Press.
People were found to be working for very low pay under dangerous conditions inside processing sheds. Handling cold, wet shrimp all day can cause fungal infections in workers’ hands, which, if left untreated, can lead to amputation of fingers. What’s more, manmade shrimp ponds cut off people’s access to water and cause a horrible stench in the surrounding area.
Watch the full video story from the Associated Press.
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In other news
- Nearly 60 Rohingya men, women, and children were rescued off the coast of Indonesia on Thursday after their boat capsized. About 4,500 refugees from Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority embarked on dangerous sea journeys last year in the hopes of making it to another country. [The Washington Post]
- Starting this weekend, Australia will enforce new, tighter rules over student visas — including increased English-language requirements — amid record-high migration rates. [Reuters]
- Three-quarters of countries will have fertility rates below population-replacement levels by 2050, according to a report published in The Lancet on Wednesday. [U.S. News & World Report]
- South Korea says it will begin suspending striking doctors’ licenses next week amid a weeks-long walkout that has caused hundreds of canceled surgeries and other treatments at hospitals. Ninety percent of the country’s 13,000 medical interns and residents are on strike to protest the government’s plan to significantly increase medical school admissions, which the doctors say schools cannot handle. [Voice of America]
- The U.K. has pledged $7.7 million to train Zambian farmers in “climate-smart agriculture” techniques like crop diversity and rotation. Africa is responsible for only a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions but suffers some of climate change’s worst effects. [The National]
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Say that again
“The old cannot kill the young forever.” So reads the inscription on a statue that’s gone on display in front of the European Parliament in Brussels.
The statue is a model of Danish artist Jens Galschiøt’s haunting “Pillar of Shame” commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing in 1989. The model in Brussels was inspired by a larger version that was installed at Hong Kong University in 1997, then taken down in 2021 after Beijing imposed its sweeping national security law meant to quash subversion.
Click through for some haunting photos of this very arresting work of art. [CNN]
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‘For 8 years, my life was focused on revenge’
When Aziz Abu Sarah was 9 years old, his older brother was arrested by Israeli police and, shortly after his release, died from internal injuries sustained while in prison. See how studying Hebrew led Sarah from a life of revenge to a commitment to peace and justice.
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What we’re listening to
Occasionally I have to remind myself — and others — that I do actually listen to music made this decade. It’s not all Lou Reed and reissues of 1970s funk albums.
My latest discovery is Altın Gün, a Dutch-Turkish rock band that will tour Europe next month. Formed in Amsterdam in 2016, the act combines traditional Turkish folk music with psychedelia for a sound that I will simply call “trippy.” Recommended if you like Texas trio Khruangbin.
—Laura Adamczyk, staff writer
Thanks for reading. We’ll see you tomorrow.
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Hope O'Dell contributed reporting to today's newsletter.
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