The world in brief

2022-08-25

America’s president, Joe Biden, announced nearly $3bn of military assistance to Ukraine
as he congratulated the country on its independence day, which coincides with
the six-month anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president,

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said the country had been “reborn” through its resistance to Russia’s aggression. He also
vowed to regain Russian-occupied regions, including Crimea which Russia annexed in
2014. Earlier Mr Zelensky warned of “hideous Russian provocations” ahead of the
Ukrainian national holiday.
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Mr Biden also announced significant student debt relief. The plan will see up to $10,000
of student loan debt cancelled for those who earn less than $125,000 a year, and even
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greater help for those who received federal student aid during their education. The
announcement follows months of political wrangling; Senate Republicans accused Mr
Biden of “passing the buck to working-class Americans”.
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Japan’s prime minister, Kishida Fumio, said on Wednesday that his country will consider
building a new generation of nuclear-power reactors as it prepares to restart plants left
idle since the Fukushima disaster of 2011. The global surge in energy prices helped
prompt an about-face. There remains work to be done, Mr Kishida implied, in convincing
the public that this counts towards Japan’s “green transformation”.

California is expected to ban the sale of petrol cars, in a move that could accelerate the
transition to electric vehicles. The California Air Resources Board said that 100% of cars
sold in the state, America’s largest car market, will have to be zero-emissions by 2035, up
from 12% today. Last week President Joe Biden signed a new climate law that earmarks
$370bn for green energy projects.

Thailand’s Constitutional Court suspended the prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, in

response to a petition filed by the main opposition party. Move Forward argues that Mr
Prayuth, who seized power in a coup in 2014, should step down this month in line with
the constitution’s eight-year term limit. The deputy prime minister, Prawit Wongsuwan,
is expected to take over as interim leader; a general election is due by May 2023.

An EU agency warned on Tuesday that Europe faces its worst drought in 500 years. The
European Drought Observatory said that 47% of the union’s landmass is subject to the
warning, with vegetation affected in 17%. Riverine shipping, hydropower and agriculture
are all under strain. Concomitant droughts in America, Britain and China mean that
international markets offer little relief.

Fighting erupted in northern Ethiopia between rebels from the Tigray region and central
government forces, ending a five-month long ceasefire and dampening hopes for peace
talks in the country’s ongoing civil war. The conflict between the Tigray People’s
Liberation Front, which controls the region, and prime minister Abiy Ahmed’s
government has killed thousands and displaced millions since it began in 2020.

Fact of the day: 2.9, the number of children the average Israeli woman has; her British
and French peers have 1.6 and 1.8 respectively.

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