A conversation on Allied Burden Sharing in Ukraine, between the CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development and the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program, has discussed the role of European partners in supporting Ukraine. While the US is the world's largest financier of foreign aid and military assistance for Ukraine, the country's European partners are contributing similar amounts on a per capita basis, with the US ranking tenth overall. European burden-sharing has also been substantial on energy and trade, with the continent suffering from vulnerability to global market dynamics and reductions in energy consumption, and potential trade disruption in areas such as food. To ensure Ukraine emerges victorious, the US and Europe will need to collectively carry these burdens.
Commerzbank's net profit in Q1 almost doubled, coming in at €580m ($635m), topping the €481m expected by analysts. The German bank is in the midst of overhauling its business, including thousands of job cuts and shuttering hundreds of branches to cut costs and increase profitability. The bank sees upside potential in net interest income this year and raised its forecast to €7bn from €6.5bn, however, its outlook depends on the fate of its Polish unit, mBank, and expects a mild recession.
China has ordered foreign embassies and international organizations not to display "politicized propaganda" on their buildings, an instruction diplomats claim is directed at those who have showcased the Ukrainian flag since Russia's invasion. Several foreign embassies in China raised the Ukrainian flag or displayed its image in the form of posters and lights following the February 2022 invasion. Ukrainian authorities expressed support for the demonstrations. However, the Chinese foreign ministry has called on representatives not to display propaganda on building exteriors due to the potential to incite disputes between countries.
A conversation on Allied Burden Sharing in Ukraine, between the CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development and the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program, has discussed the role of European partners in supporting Ukraine. While the US is the world's largest financier of foreign aid and military assistance for Ukraine, the country's European partners are contributing similar amounts on a per capita basis, with the US ranking tenth overall. European burden-sharing has also been substantial on energy and trade, with the continent suffering from vulnerability to global market dynamics and reductions in energy consumption, and potential trade disruption in areas such as food. To ensure Ukraine emerges victorious, the US and Europe will need to collectively carry these burdens.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Poland's government to support its fight against inflation with fiscal policies, warning that too much impetus could fuel inflationary pressures and result in the need for additional monetary policy tightening. The IMF's Senior Regional Representative for Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, Geoff Gottlieb, suggested that the governing Law and Justice party's pledge to increase the existing '500+' child benefit would not efficiently help poorer households because eligibility was universal. Furthermore, he recommended that, to offset the loss of purchasing power faced by the most vulnerable populations, governments should concentrate on prioritising temporary support through cash transfers.
A phonics-based approach to reading instruction is the best way to teach Australian children how to read, according to the results of the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. The state of New South Wales has overhauled its curriculum to ensure phonics is taught when students learn to read, while a compulsory phonics check is carried out on Year 1 students. One in five Australian students currently lack basic reading skills, a gap that has widened in the past decade for boys in NSW, while girls continue to progress. The national UK approach to phonics has been cited as a good example to follow.
Ukraine has told China's special representative for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, it will not agree to any proposals to end its conflict with Russia that involve losing territory or freezing the conflict. This comment came during Li's visit to Kyiv on Tuesday and Wednesday – the first by a senior envoy from China since Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. China has been criticised for refraining from condemning Russia's actions and for not referring to them as an "invasion", causing some to question China's credibility as a potential broker in the conflict.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has revealed he is making progress in persuading the West to supply his country with fighter jets. He has set his sights on getting US-built F-16 jets flown by several NATO nations – Britain and The Netherlands have pledged to help. While no western-designed jets have yet been donated, Poland and Slovakia have given Ukraine 27 Mig-29s to supplement its current fleet. However, Poland can't provide F-16s due to shortage. One alternative to the F-16 could be the JAS Gripen fighter jet produced by Swedish defence manufacturer SAAB.
A conversation on Allied Burden Sharing in Ukraine, between the CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development and the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program, has discussed the role of European partners in supporting Ukraine. While the US is the world's largest financier of foreign aid and military assistance for Ukraine, the country's European partners are contributing similar amounts on a per capita basis, with the US ranking tenth overall. European burden-sharing has also been substantial on energy and trade, with the continent suffering from vulnerability to global market dynamics and reductions in energy consumption, and potential trade disruption in areas such as food. To ensure Ukraine emerges victorious, the US and Europe will need to collectively carry these burdens.
Hong Kong and mainland China saw negative growth in their ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) figures last year, while Singapore gained, according to a report by Knight Frank. Mainland China saw the greater decrease, dropping by 5.9%. This year, China saw a 49.8% surge, while Hong Kong should rebound to 7,280 by 2027, the report said. Referring to the 100 global prime residential markets, Liam Bailey, global head of research at the property consultancy, said: “Luxury investment assets grew 16% which helped to steady the decline."
Britain has said it will support all countries that want to send F-16 jets to Ukraine, subject to US approval for the transfer of the military technology. It is part of the effort to set up an international coalition with the Dutch and other nations to come to the aid of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. It was announced amid a web of diplomatic efforts over the invasion of Ukraine, including the extension of a deal with Turkey that would allow the country to export millions of tonnes of grain through the Black Sea, which would otherwise be blocked by Russian warships. China has also sent peace envoys to mediate talks in Russia, Poland, France, and Germany about the conflict.
China's special envoy for Eurasia, Li Hui, will visit Brussels as part of his European tour, which began in Kyiv on 11 January, before passing through Warsaw, Paris, and Berlin, and concluding in Moscow. According to reports, Li added Brussels to his itinerary after being told that Kyiv would not accept any proposals leading to territorial loss. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said the country will not “accept any proposals that would involve the loss of its territories or the freezing of the conflict”.
Russia's campaign to recruit men to give up their civilian job to join the army, as well as offering medals to woman who have 10 or more children to help boost the country's birth rate shows how gendered stereotypes reflect the interest of patriarchal states. This free article in the Financial Times looks at how this state rhetoric has been a constant, with state control over populations being the preoccupation of governments for at least 5,000 years and why President Putin cannot prevent queues of young men trying to avoid conscription by fleeing the country.
Several hundred young people, mostly in their 20s, were recruited by San Francisco-based outsourcing company Sama to work in its Nairobi hub moderating Facebook content. In a lawsuit against Sama and Facebook owner Meta, 184 petitioners are alleging human rights violations and wrongful termination of contracts. The case, one of the largest of its kind, has potential global implications for the conditions of tens of thousands of moderators employed to filter out the most toxic material from social media networks. The cases are the first filed outside the US that seek to change through court procedures how moderators of Facebook content are treated. In 2020, Facebook paid out $52m to settle a lawsuit and provide mental health treatment for American content moderators. Many moderators in Kenya who spoke to The Financial Times said the work left them psychologically scarred, plagued by flashbacks and unable to maintain normal social relations.
Dr Li Hui, special representative of the Chinese government for Eurasian Affairs, will travel to Ukraine, Germany, France and Poland this week, seeking to boost ties and push for an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. China continues to cast itself as a potential mediator in the conflict, which has deepened Ukrainian ties with Europe and the US, and caused Western sanctions to be imposed on Russia. Dr Li's visit is part of a wider European tour, and comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China would send an envoy to Ukraine on a call to Volodymyr Zelenskiy last month. When Chinese and Russian leaders met in Moscow in June, they unveiled a vague plan designed to bring peace to Ukraine that included a cease-fire that would freeze Russian troops on Ukrainian soil and was criticised by the US and other Western countries that urged for the complete withdrawal of Russian soldiers from Ukrainian land.
Ukraine's foreign minister has told a high-level Chinese envoy that Kyiv will not accept any proposals to end the ongoing war with Russia that could lead to Ukraine losing territory. Dmytro Kuleba also said that "just peace" could only be restored if "respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine" was observed. Li Hui, China's special representative for Eurasian affairs, was in Kyiv to promote Beijing-led negotiations to resolve the conflict and is now expected to visit Moscow to discuss a possible political solution to the conflict.
Japan has agreed to accept wounded Ukrainian soldiers for medical treatment, including physical therapy, at the Self-Defense Forces Central Hospital in Tokyo. The rare move is in response to a request by Ukraine, which is fighting a war with Russia. Many other Western nations have already provided Ukraine with tanks, fighter jets and long-range artillery. Japan, which has strict regulations on weapons exports, has so far only offered non-lethal defense equipment, such as bulletproof vests, helmets and drones. In a similar scheme in Poland, German army medics treated injured Ukrainian soldiers in Bavaria over the winter.
China's special envoy to Europe, Li Hui, has visited Ukraine in an effort to ease the country's conflict with Russia. The visit followed a discussion between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in the first contact between the two heads of state since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Ukraine has warned China not to tacitly approve of Moscow's action by refusing to call it an invasion or war and saying that it will only accept a peace agreement respecting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Li will also visit Russia, Poland, France and Germany.
China's special envoy for Eurasian Affairs, Li Hui, has urged all parties to create conditions for peace talks relating to the Russia-Ukraine conflict during a visit to Kyiv. Hui exchanged views with President Zelenskiy and the Ukrainian foreign minister in an effort to end the conflict through a political settlement. China is willing to promote the international community to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, making its own efforts to stop the fighting and (establish a) ceasefire and restore peace as soon as possible.
Several leading Polish websites were hit by DDoS attacks, provoking the Polish government to claim it could be Russian hackers: as reported on Thursday. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Poland has been vocal about its support of its neighbour, and frequently has to defend against destabilisation measures by its giant neighbour. Moscow has, of course, always denied being involved in cyber attacks. The attacks used DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) technology, aiming to send vast amounts of traffic at targeted servers, in order to take them offline. It is believed that the attack is one of the biggest Poland has seen.
