Types of News: Brief Archives

Venezuela’s Opposition May End Failed Interim Government

29Dec

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Types of News: Brief

Venezuela’s Opposition May End Failed Interim Government

Juan Guaidó Awaits Decision By Opposition Leaders On January 3 December 29, 2022—It isn't just Venezuela's opposition that awaits trial in a vote now scheduled for Tuesday, it's Washington's strategy of imposing an interim government and ad hoc president for a country lacking fair elections. On December 21 a coalition of Venezuelan opposition leaders voted to end the interim government and Juan Guaidó as its head. Three of the four opposition parties supported the non-binding vote. They were scheduled to make that vote final today but have postponed that decision until Tuesday. "From a political point of view, it has ceased to be useful for the democratization of Venezuela and is of no interest to the citizens," the parties announced in a joint statement, according to a news ...

U.S. Politics: Senator Says ‘No’ To Extreme Party Pressure

9Dec

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Types of News: Brief, United States

U.S. Politics: Senator Says ‘No’ To Extreme Party Pressure

Sinema Switches To Independent Status, Saying She Won't Be 'Blindly Loyal' To A Partisan Agenda December 9, 2023—As the final race for the U.S. Senate came to a close this week in Georgia, Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema made a surprise announcement: She's leaving the Democratic party to be an independent leader. Her decision won't affect the control of the Senate. Democrats will continue to led the upper chamber next year. Furthermore, Sinema said she doesn't plan to caucus with Republicans. That means her announcement won't change the distribution of money for Senate staff or committee seat makeup. However, it demonstrates a blow to the power of partisan politics. As such, it gives strength to independent thinking and action in Washington. Sinema said she did not run for offic...

U.S. Inflation Remains ‘Highly Uncertain,’ Fed Chair Says

30Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Finance, Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Inflation Remains ‘Highly Uncertain,’ Fed Chair Says

November 30, 2022—Although increases in consumer prices ebbed slightly in the United States in the latest numbers, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned on Wednesday that inflation's path remains "highly uncertain." He noted that October's figure of 7.7 percent annual growth is better than the previous Consumer Price Index estimates but said the single-month improvement doesn't reflect a trend. Powell said the Fed policy is likely to remain "restrictive for some time to come." Addressing an audience at the Brookings Institution, he said price trends differ in three categories: core goods, housing, and services. Prices in core goods are moderating while housing service prices rose rapidly. Meanwhile, prices in services are likely to rise due to unmet demand in the labor market. ...

G7 Aims To Improve War Crimes Investigations

30Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Diplomacy and International Law, Human rights, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, UN Security Council, Types of News: Brief

G7 Aims To Improve War Crimes Investigations

November 30, 2022—Justice ministers representing G7 countries met on Tuesday to plan ways to investigate war crimes and bring war criminals to justice. Justice ministers from G7 countries and the European Union met in Berlin, Germany on Nov. 29, 2022. The G7 includes the United States, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy. Photo credit: BMJ/Thomas Trutschel Since the start of Russia's war against Ukraine in February 2022, the international community has sought ways to prevent and condemn the aggressive actions, particularly against civilians. For example, in March the UN’s Human Rights Council passed a resolution condemning Russia’s action against Ukraine and establishing a UN Council of Inquiry. That same month the International Court of Justice (IJC) author...

Cuba Wins At The UN, Launches New Crack Down At Home

3Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Diplomacy and International Law, Types of News: Brief

Cuba Wins At The UN, Launches New Crack Down At Home

'It's Getting Ugly,' Economist Writes About Price Fixing Policies November 3, 2022--The United Nations General Assembly took up the Cuban government's annual resolution to end the economic embargo imposes against that country. Cuba has widespread support among UN delegates for its request to end the U.S. embargo, which hampers its trade and economy. "The blockade constitutes a massive, flagrant and systematic violation of thehuman rights of the Cuban people," Cuba's resolution asserted. U.S. Political Counselor John Kelly issued a statement defending the U.S. position. "Mr. President, the United States opposes this resolution, but we stand with the Cuban people and will continue to seek ways to provide meaningful support to them," Kelly said. "We encourage this body to urge t...

Russian Grain Deal Is Back On, Turkey Says

2Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Diplomacy and International Law, Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

Russian Grain Deal Is Back On, Turkey Says

November 2, 2022—A grain deal that lets grain flow from Ukraine and Russia through Turkey to the global economy is back on as of 12:00 p.m. today, according to Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Erdoğan announced that Russia is rejoining the agreement, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative. He helped broker the deal with Ukraine and Russia along with the United Nations in July. It establishes a Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul, Turkey where officials inspect vessels for the sake of shipping food and fertilizer to the rest of the world. Russian President Vladimir Putin left the deal over the weekend, citing Ukraine's military actions against a key bridge as a reason. But Russian officials stayed engaged with the initiative, according to a recent UN update. As of toda...

2Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Diplomacy and International Law, Middle East, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, UN Security Council, Types of News: Brief

Algeria Hosts Arab League Summit

Algeria hosts Arab League The Summit Comes On The Heels Of Historic Agreement Uniting Palestinian Factions November 2, 2022—Member of the 22-member Arab League met for the first time since 2019 in Algiers, Algeria Tuesday. It is the first Arab League meeting since Israel normalized its relations with several Arab countries, the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco. It also comes on the heels of a successful effort on the part of Algerian President Abdulmajeed Tabboune to bring sparring Palestinian factions together. On Tuesday, Tabboune welcomed the guests, saying that the League's "central and primary cause" is the "Palestinian cause," according to reporting by TRT World, a Turkish news broadcaster. "The Palestinian question is the mother of all questions," Tabboune said. Economi...

A Week Before The Election, Biden Asks Big Oil To ‘Share The Wealth’

2Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Energy Policy, Oil & Gas, Types of News: Brief, United States

A Week Before The Election, Biden Asks Big Oil To ‘Share The Wealth’

November 1, 2022—A week away from the U.S. Midterm elections, inflation is grabbing the attention of voters and politicians alike. As Republicans play up the impact of rising prices and pin the blame on their opponents, Democrats point the finger at companies benefiting from higher prices. It doesn't take long for the focus to fall on energy companies, specifically those earning profit from the high price of oil on global markets. That's precisely the play President Joe Biden pulled from his playbook on Monday. "In a difficult time, Americans across the country have stepped up, and they — to do the right thing. But not everyone has stepped up," Biden said. "The oil industry has not — has not met its commitment to invest in America and support the American people. One by one, major o...

2Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Big Tech, Digital Economy, Types of News: Brief

Musk’s $8 Twitter Pay Plan

November 2, 2022—As the new owner and head of the world's social media gathering place, Elon Musk has a plan to make it a little less free. That is, he intends to charge $8 a month to Twitter users who want validation backing their accounts that they are legitimate. The validation would come from a blue check mark next to their names and handle. Moreover, that check mark could come with the privileges, such as priority in receiving replies, mentions, and search rankings, the ability to post long videos and audio, and half as many ads. Revenue the company receives from charging the fee could help Twitter reward the content creators, Musk said. Here he is discussing his vision in an archived video released today. Are you buying in? See video here. https://video.twimg.c...

Migrant Workers At U.S. Military Bases Face Forced To Stay By Private Contractors

31Oct

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Arms Sales, Military Industry, Human rights, Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Brief

Migrant Workers At U.S. Military Bases Face Forced To Stay By Private Contractors

Photo NBC Complaints Of Forced Labor Linger While Private Firms Continue To Win U.S. Contracts October 31, 2022—In an irony of ironies, the U.S. government opposes to human trafficking and forced labor at the same time that its Defense Department hires private contractors that routinely conducting those practices. Migrant civilians working on U.S. military bases in the Persian Gulf are subject to trafficking and abusive labor practices, according to a groundbreaking investigation conducted by a team of international journalists. The team included investigative reporters from the Washington Post, NBC News, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, and Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalists to uncover the story. Their findings came to light late last...